The Snow Pharaoh
by MissBrains101
Summary: Yu-Gi-Oh! Rewrite of The Snow Queen. Grandpa Solomon has gone missing. He has been taken away by the Snow Pharaoh who was once a fair ruler of Ancient Egypt with a gifted ability to make snow out of magic. Yugi Muto must trek on a perioul journey to find his grandfather and challenge the Snow Pharaoh in a game. Can he succeed with a warm heart or will he become frozen forever?
1. Mirrors, Chilis, and Ice Cube Monsters

**[Update: 07/5/2016]**

 **I'm so sorry for the long wait, everyone. I had finally finished Poké-Oh!. I've decided I'm going to rewrite this story and add more heart and details to make this YGO fairy tale more intriguing and real.**

 **As I said before, this fanfiction will be quite different from the original Snow Queen written by old Hans Christian Anderson** **. The Snow Pharaoh will be roled as the anti-hero rather than the antagonist. He was a misunderstood man cursed with icy powers and has a frozen heart that needs to be thawed. Only a certain spiky-haired hero can save him. New twists and plot elements will be added.**

 **I hope you enjoy this one**

 **PEACE**

In the very beginning of time, there was only space. There was no light, no air, and no day or night. Only darkness.

Horahkty, the Creator God of Light decided to create a world where it would be full of light, warmth, and beauty in every parts around the planet.

She also created a race of human beings and spirits of monster that live among them through the Spirit World.

Humans and monster spirits coexisted peacefully over the years. People would often duel each other with these monsters and play games with them, using them as either partners, pawns, or even guardians.

Earth was a beautiful and peaceful place to live.

Unfortunately, Horahkty's evil counterpart Zorc Necrophedes, the god of evil spirits and ruler of Hell (or the Shadow Realm as others would call it) was envious of Horahkty's divine powers and disgusted by the Earth's beauty.

He would attempt to ruin Horahkty's creations and bring ruination to both Heaven and Earth.

He decided to create a cursed magic mirror that only displays ugliness in the beholder's reflection, distorting the truth. He sent his disciple, Diabound to deliver the mirror to Heaven to expose Horahkty her "ugliness" in the false reflection so that when the Creator of Light was cringed in her shame, Zorc would have access to the Upper World and spread darkness and destruction all over the Universe.

But luckily, Horahkty saw through his plan and stopped Diabound as he was on his way to the gates of Heaven with the sword of her warm light.

Blinded, Diabound dropped the mirror and it fell down straight back to Earth.

The mirror shattered into tiny pieces and scattered across the globe by the icy fierce winds, willed by Zorc himself. These tiny splinters still contained evilness from the devil's dark magic that whoever gets affected by them in their eyes will see only hideousness, and their hearts will truly become frozen and cold on the inside and out...

* * *

[Present Day]

Wintertime in Japan. February was probably the coldest time in Japan, especially in the city of Domino. The entire sky was completely shrouded by puffy gray clouds. Tiny flakes of white snow descended over busy streets.

Traffic was moving slowly due to the crunchy ice on the streets. The sidewalks were being deiced by the water sprinkler system underground, making it safe for the pedestrians as they walk down the snowy city.

The people were bundled head to toe in heavy coats, scarves, mittens, boots, and snow hats. Several of them wore umbrellas to keep their bare hairs free from the flakes. Women dressed in white fur coats were window shopping, studying the latest winter fashion trend. The youth played around while the old owners of stores had to scrap ice off their windows and glass doors.

In Domino Park, several children ran and played in the snow. They made snowmen, snow angels, and had snowball fights. Some tried to catch snowflakes in their mouths while teenagers ice-skated in the frozen pond. What many people of Domino City were looking forward to is the annual Domino Snow Festival which will take place in two days. Winter may be most everyone's favorite, but what everyone don't know is that each snowflake contains a speck of magic...magic beyond Earth and from another dimension.

It was high noon and snow flurried over Domino High School. Packs of students cooped in the warm cafeteria, hanging out, chatting noisily, during lunch break. Several of them were excited about going to the Domino Snow Festival while others wanted to go outside and have snowball fights.

The two best friends Yugi Mutou and Téa Gardener sat at the long table, playing a new game that had recently came out.

"It's my turn," Tèa said. She shook a snow globe up and down, making two plastic diamonds bounce. "Six left and five top." She read. She gently tapped her tiny iceman figure, causing to move 6 squares on the left and hop five more north. It landed on a cube surface facing another with a red picture icon that shaped like a beast. "I landed in front of a beast cube. That means I get to summon another beast warrior." Her eskimo toy hammered his ice pick on the ice cube until it dropped to the floor underneath the ice path. "Oh look. I summoned Kitty Gladiator." She read from the card she drew out from the stack on her side. She added a orange kitten figurine dressed in a cute gladiator armor and on the ice path.

"No offense, Téa, but your little pussy cat won't stand a chance against my Celtic Guardian," Yugi said.

"Never judge a monster by its whiskers." Téa advised. "With Kitten Gladiator's special ability, it allows her to use her adorable charm on Celtic Guardian and lower his attack strength."

Yugi chuckled.

Just then, two figures, heavily bundled up stepped into the cafeteria. They were coated head to toe with snow grits, and their boots still had rings of gray ice around their soles of their boots. They tracked water on the floors as they walked toward the long table where Yugi and Téa are sitting, bringing several stares from the students.

"Havin' fun, guys?" A male Brooklyn voice addressed from a blond boy's scarf.

Yugi and Téa looked up and snickered at their appearances. "Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking," the blond boy responded. "But _don't_ you say another word." He said it firmly and pointed his finger.

"Hey, Tristan, hey Joey." Yugi greeted. "Whatcha been up too?"

"Just finished shoveling snow in the school yard," Tristan Taylor blurted out, pulling off his snow crusty earmuffs. "I gotta say, this has gotta be the most coldest time of winter. I think my nose hairs are frozen."

"Sounds like Jack Frost is already nipping at your nose." Téa said.

"More like kicking our butts." Tristan said, unwrapping his scarf.

"You look like the Thing from the movie, The, um Thing." Yugi joked.

"Ha, ha, ha! Real funny, Yug." Joey Wheeler retorted and removed his wet scarf. "So whatcha been doing in dis cozy warm room?"

"Just playing this new board game called Ice Cube Monsters," Yugi answered.

"How do you play?" Tristan asked.

"It's really fun." Yugi explained. "You have roll the dice to move your iceman on each different paths of ice blocks. Our icemen can duel each other while trying to sculpt this ice mountain." He pointed to a mound of plastic white "snow in the middle of the ice grid. "Their health meters are usually up to 500."

"Depending on what type of block the iceman lands on, you can either sculpt a monster, play magic spells, or set up traps to knock out their monsters, boost up your monster, or deflect their attacks you carve the ice sculpture. You can even sculpt the most powerful high level monster when you collect enough star block your iceman collects."

"Ooh." Joey and Tristan look interested.

"Whoever finishes each other's iceman is the winner." Yugi finished.

"Nice." Tristan said.

"Think I could play?" Joey asked, seating himself on the table bench.

"I don't see why not." Yugi responded. "I have to warn you; this game can be quite addicting. Plus, I am the magician of Ice Cube Monsters." He held the Dark Magician pawn in his hand.

Just then, they heard obnoxious snickering interrupting their conversation. The four friends looked up to the source of those voices and saw that they belonged to three teenage boys sitting next to them in the same cafeteria table. One was large, bulky, and has shaggy black hair with tiny beady eyes and a double chin. The second purple-haired boy was short, scrawny, and had the face of a weasel. The third boy was average height, and had green hair, a lemon-shaped head with a obnoxious face and black eyes. They laughed so loudly that half of the cafeteria heard and shook their heads.

"Is something amusing goin' dere?" Joey addressed the chortling trio.

"Ha ha ha! Sorry, but you just said the most stupidest thing in the whole wide world!" The middle-sized boy said.

"'Scuse me?" Joey asked with pique.

"For your information, pointy head, I, Gian Tahoe, am the champion of Ice Cube Monsters!" The green-haired boy declared.

"It's true. Gian can crush anyone who was foolish enough to challenge him." The small boy remarked in a Southern accent.

"Duh, yep." The huge boy agreed. "Gian's the runner-up of Domino Snow Festival tournament three times in a row."

"Shut up, Tomoko!" The two bullies snapped and jabbed him in the round gut.

Tristan snorted. "Please, you couldn't hold a candle to Yug's monsters or his mastery."

"Ha! Ya dorks can't hold on ta anything, including your brains!" Joey added.

"Snap!" Tristan laughed and slapped hands with his best friends.

"Ha ha! That's true!" Tomoko laughed.

"SHUT UP!" Gian and the small boy shouted at their dumb friend.

"Come on, guys. Let's go." Téa said, getting up. "We don't have to waste our time with these losers."

She and the boys packed up and left the cafeteria table.

"Yeah, that's right! Go on and play with your little kiddie games!" Gian said in a cheeky voice. "

Joey growled in irritation. "Easy there, Joey." Tristan eased.

"My grandpa says that those who bullies others to make one feel better will only hurt themselves even more and make them lesser," Yugi advised. "So sticks and stones cannot break my bones, but I will not stoop to your level."

"Well, your grandpa is a loony toon! An old nutcase!" Gian retorted.

"He's kookier than a cuckoo clock!" The small boy said.

"Good one, Choji!" Tokomo chortled. "Cuckoo! Cuckoo!" He then did a impersonation of a cuckoo bird, eyes rolling around like he gone berserk.

Some of the students chuckled. Yugi froze in hhis tracks. "Oh no he didn't!" Tristan ejected.

"What?" Yugi spoke up.

"Where's your mommy and daddy, Yugi?" Choji the short boy asked in a taunting voice. "Or do you even have any?"

"Hey, mind ya own businesses, ya pea-brained Neanderthals!" Joey snapped, defending his best pal. "You're just jealous 'cause you don't have a great grandpa like Yugi's."

"That's right." Tristan added. "Yugi's grandfather raised him like his own son. Mr. Muto is also like our grandfather. Every summer, he gave us free passes to the Domino Water Park...after we do his chores that is. He would tell us jokes just to make us laugh, even though some of them aren't funny and we don't get the rest. But the point is that he's loads of fun and he's the best grandpa Yugi's ever had."

"Oh, we are so jealous!" Gian said sarcastically. "We totally yearned for an short fat boring old geezer who works in a lame game shop."

"Dat's it, it's go time!" Joey said, putting up his dukes.

"You wanna take this outside, blondie?" Tokomo boomed.

"Let's do it in here," Choji said.

"Bring it, shrimp!" Tristan glared down at the short teen.

Téa acted like a referee and and tried to break this up. "Remember last time, you were almost kicked out of school for fighting?"

Yugi stood between the disputing boys. "There's a better way to settle this." He turned to Gian. "Gian, I challenge you to a game of Ice Cube Monsters."

"Eh?" Gian looked down at the serious spiky-haired teen boy.

"Meet me in Burger World. One round at Ice Cube Monsters...that is, if you're not chicken." Yugi's purple eyes gleamed in challenge.

"Oooohhhh!" The students oohed.

"Chicken? Me?" Gian spat out.

"You can take him, Gian!" Choji said. "You're good at Ice Cube Monsters."

"Yeah, send him home crying to his grandpoppy!" Tokomo added.

Gian grinned smugly and chuckled. "Okay then, Little Yugi, I accepted your challenge! See at three, Mutou!" He and Choji traipsed out of the cafeteria.

"Better have a big appetite, Mutou 'cause you're gonna taste...um..." Tomoko tried to think of a good comeback. "Uh...of not winning!"

"Yeah, keep up with good comebacks, dude!" Tristan returned smartly.

Tokomo growled and clomped out of the cafeteria, following his friends.

The students went back to their business. Others were highly interested in going to Burger World to see Yugi battling against Gian in Ice Cube Monsters.

"You sure you wanna do this, Yugi?" Téa asked. "Those guys are hardly worth it."

"If you want, I can take care of those creeps for ya," Tristan offered. "That way you won't have to do it."

Yugi looked very confident. "I'll be just fine, Tristan," he said confidently and cracked his knuckles. "Nobody makes fun of my grandfather without paying the price." His large violet eyes flared with fire in his heart.

"Dat's my boy!" Joey grinned. "Just like I taught ya!"

To their unknowing, floating aside the falling flakes, a translucent brown furry little creatures with round eyes and four claws peaked through the school window glass and saw the whole thing. He squeaked excitedly and dissolved through the snow flakes, teleporting somewhere.

* * *

Somewhere in a different dimension, there was a frozen ruined kingdom made entirely out of ice. It shone in the twilight atmosphere like a crystal metropolis. It was once a beautiful and grand kingdom of ancient Egypt.

Yes, that's right. Ancient Egypt which was supposedly scorching hot was covered up in cold ice and snow. It was once ruled by a certain benevolent and wise king, that is until a great disaster occurred and the king fled from his kingdom after it was all covered with unmeltable ice.

At the tip of the glacial wasteland, there was large Egyptian pyramid made entirely out of ice. Inside it is always cold as the Arctic, the corridors are empty and quiet as the tombs.

The only company inside are the statues of Duel Monsters which are actually spirits. They emerged from the statues and roamed around for a bit.

One spirit monster who appeared to be a blond teenaged girl dressed in a purple and blue sorcerer outfit and pointy hat floated up and down giddily and twirled her magic staff.

"That was a nice nap," she said. "What do you want to do next?"

"How about another nap?" A blue stumpy dragon suggested.

"How about a round of wrestling?" A black-haired warrior carrying a large shield added in.

"Or maybe a friendly free-for-all?" A golden skeletal dragon named Curse of Dragon implied.

"Last time we did it, you and Winged Dragon nearly burned down the pyramid." A black, purple, and blue humanoid mage recalled. "Dark Magician had to quickly resolidify the ice blocks before they melt to the ground. It took us everything we had to rebuild the place and restore things to normal before the Snow Pharaoh could find out.

"It was an accident." The blue dragon named Winged Dragon said. "If Curse of Dragon hadn't gotten out of the way, it wouldn't have happened."

Curse of Dragon growled.

"It's just that it's so quiet in here," the blond girl said. "Hardly ever exciting things happen here."

"It's always too quiet here, Dark Magician Girl," Curse of Dragon pointed it out. "We rarely have guests. Not since the last warrior who traveled here and challenged the Snow Pharaoh to a game."

"Poor Alexander, he never had a chance," an elf swordsman called Celtic Guardian said.

Among with them was a humanoid creature wearing a creepy mask with long red mane, sharp clothes, and long dark robe. "That's because no one can stand up to the Snow Pharaoh." He spoke up in a cold raspy voice. "No mortal could."

"That is true, he's always unbeatable," Big Shield Gardna said. "He wins at every game. There is not one mortal whose skills are equal to the Snow Pharaoh's."

"Maybe, but I have faith that someone will stand up to the Snow Pharaoh and beat him at his own game at last." Dark Magician Girl speculated.

"In your dreams, girlie." Winged Dragon said.

Just then, the same little fuzzball appeared bouncing back in the corridors, approaching the spirit monsters.

"It's Kuriboh! He's back!" Big Shield Gardna said.

The brown fuzzball jumped up and down excitedly as if he couldn't wait to tell his friends what happened.

"Sounds like he's got something to tell us!" Dark Magician Girl said and picked the brown furry creature in her hands. "What is it, boy? What did you see?"

Kuriboh chittered rambunctiously.

"You did?" Dark Magician Girl understood.

"What? What did he say?" Big Shield Gardna asked.

Kuriboh chittered some more, ejecting more details in his own language.

The monsters expressed in awe at the news and rushed all the way upstairs to the apex where their ruler lives. They approached the throne doors, only to be guarded by a humanoid spellcaster dressed in dark blue, has a pointy hat, and carries a long magic staff. He looked like Dark Magician Girl's male counterpart, except his face is slate and has long light lavender hair.

"Yo, Dark Magician! We need to speak with the pharaoh!" The Magician of Black Chaos, the dark colored monster called out.

"The pharaoh is busy." The dark spell caster said. "He does not like to be disturbed."

"But we have some news to tell him," Dark Magician Girl said.

"Kuriboh said he has found another opponent." Celtic Guardian added.

"Really? You don't say?" The Dark Magician replied. "Another unfortunate victim for the pharaoh's collection

With caution, he opened the heavy doors with his magic staff and the monsters entered the throne room.

Inside was a young man in his early twenties who has bronze skin and a star-shaped hairstyle with three colors; red, black, and gold. He had pure white royal Egyptian clothing with gold bangles, jewelry, and a longblue cape that matched the colors of the Icy Pyramid.

Their ruler, the Snow Pharaoh was in deep concentration of trying put the pieces of some kind of broken mirror. "It's been nearly a millenia, and I've only got only half of the mirror fixed." He said in a deep tone voice. "At this rate, I may need someone smarter and a much expert to this..."

"Pardon the intrusion, Pharaoh," Dark Magician imposed.

The Snow Pharaoh paused his puzzle fitting and turned his head around. "Dark Magician, you were told to make sure I was not to be disturbed unless there is something deeply wrong or if there is another foolish opponent who dares challenge me," he said in a cold voice that could give anyone the shivers, literally. He also had cold ruby red arched eyes which shone like the ice. "Do you not see I am trying to get this puzzle done?"

"Forgive me, but Kuriboh informed he has found another strong opponent, Your Majesty." Dark Magician explained.

The Snow Pharaoh's glare lessened up and appeared interested. "Is that right? Then I must find out who my next victim is."

Using the power of his Millennium Pendant, he drew a curved line of ice on the floor from his hands, shaping into some kind of a large Egyptian eye carving beneath him and his monsters.

"Eye of Wdjat, show me the newest strongest opponent in the mortal world!" The Snow Pharaoh casted his snowy magic and the ice eye symbol he created activated at his command and glowed mystically light blue, displaying the mortal world.

There inside the eye's pupil, Yugi and his opponent were sitting at the table, playing a round of Ice Cube Monsters. From the looks of it, Yugi appeared to be winning.

"Go get him, Yug!" Joey encouraged.

"Whoa, you got the lead, Yugi!" Téa exclaimed as she passed by holding a tray of orders.

Téa worked there as a waitress to save up money for her trip to New York to study ballet when she graduates from high school. She watched her little friend roll the dice to move his iceman.

"North five steps, left six." He recorded. "Your move."

The Snow Pharaoh's arched eyes rose up. "This human child right here supposed to be my next opponent?" He frowned and folded his arms. "I'm not amused."

"Keep watching, Your Majesty." Dark Magician said.

"Dude, he's kicking your butt!" Tomoko said.

"Are you losing your touch, Gian?" Choji asked.

"S-shut up!" The losing green-haired teen snapped as he reached his card deck. "He ain't gonna defeat me!" Panicking inside, he fumbled with the cards in his hand and slipped off his palms. "Blast it!"

"He's toast!" Tristan said.

"I sculpted Timaeus the Knight of Destiny!" Yugi declared as he held a golden knight in his hand. "His level is at 10. One swipe from his golden sword and your monsters and the rest of your iceman's health meter are history!"

"NOOO!" Gian shouted in horror.

Yugi pushed his Timaeus pawn forward and all off Gian's monsters fell down by his sword. It then smote the opponent's health meter down to zero, declaring Yugi the winner.

"Game over, Gian!" The young champion of Ice Cube Monsters proclaimed and tipped his thumb down. "You lose."

The teens watching the competition cheered. "Way to go, Yugi!" Téa said.

"Yeah! That's my pal!" Joey grinned and gave his best friend a thumbs up.

"I knew he would win!" Tristan added.

Gian sat there stupefied, couldn't believe what just happened. He has just been overpowered by a pipsqueak with tricolored hair.

"Whoa, dude. You just got...eh, anil...anilat...you got whupped by a shrimpy little twerp!" Tomoko said.

"What happened, man? You said you're the best." Choji asked. "Did you suck all of a sudden? Or were you just bluffing all this time?"

Gian glared at them. "How would you like to wake up with your faces totally disfigured?" He snarled threateningly. Choji shut his mouth at once while Tomoko cocked his head confusion.

The monster spirits were amazed by what they just watched. "Wow, he's good! No, he's great!" Dark Magician Girl said.

"Uh, yeah!" Big Shield Gardna agreed.

"Hmm, I must say I'm very impressed with the boy's skills." The Snow Pharaoh said. "He does possess a lot of passion for this game."

Kuriboh squeaked as if saying "I told you!".

"Though he does not compare to my mastery of Ice Cube Monsters. Perhaps, I should learn more about this boy and find out who he is."

"You were great, Yug!" Joey congratulated. "Great job kicking that doofus' butt!"

"Thanks, guys!" Yugi said.

"You rock!" Tristan said. "Or should I say, 'iced'."

The friends expressed in reaction at his pun. "Tristan!"

They then looked outside the window. "Wow, look how hard snow is pouring." Tristan said.

"They kind of look like snow bees." Téa said.

"Yeah, but where's da queen?" Joey asked.

"Actually, they may not look it but they are living spirits living inside of these crystals," Yugi said. "Every swarm or colony has a leader, like the swarm has a queen and the spirits of Duel Monsters are ruled by the Snow Pharaoh.

"Who?" The three asked in unison.

"The Snow Pharaoh," Yugi repeated.

"What's a Snow Pharaoh?" Téa asked.

"He's the ruler of these snow flakes. He reigns a land of ice and snow. He can bring in blizzards, snowstorms, and even ice showers with a lift of a finger."

"Come on, Yug." Joey rolled his eyes.

"It's true. My grandfather used to tell me lots of stories about the Snow Pharaoh," Yugi explained. "He told me that every year, his Icy Pyramid arrives from the northern lights and stay on Earth until the end of winter. When it gets colder in February, the Snow Pharaoh would depart from his abode and wander around the world on his magical horse, searching for a worthy opponent to challenge him to a game."

"A worthy opponent?" Téa asked. "What do you mean 'challenge to a game'?"

"Like he can create snow out of magic, the Snow Pharaoh is also the master of every game he invents. He's the king ice and games. He's the reason the winter has come. He was the one who created Ice Cube Monsters a long time ago."

"Ancient warriors from around the world used travel to his Icy Pyramid and contested him to a one-chance of Ice Cube Monsters. When they all lost to him, he froze them all into ice statues. They were no match for the invincible Snow Pharaoh. And now he sits alone in his Icy Pyramid, waiting for another opponent to come challenge him."

Téa was fascinated by this tale, but the boys just scoffed as they didn't buy Yugi's fairy tale at all.

"That's sounds a little, how do I put this, far-fetched," Tristan commented. "Not to be disrespecting you, Yug, but I think your grandpa might be making it all up."

"There's no way dat a man can control snow or create snowflakes out of magic, let alone a pharaoh." Joey said. "Pharaohs don't exist anymore, remember?"

"You can believe what you want, but the Snow Pharaoh is real. Make no mistake." Yugi put in firmly. "He could be roaming around the Earth as we speak. He could even be in Domino City!"

"Oh, yeah, sure!" Joey said sarcastically.

"Well, I believe what Yugi's story." Téa interposed. "If the Snow Pharaoh exists, then he better beware, 'cause Yugi's the best gamer in town."

Yugi scratched his head and chuckled modestly. "Oh, I don't know about that."

"It's true, Yug. You are da best." Joey said.

"No one can beat you in Ice Cube Monsters," Tristan said. "Heck, no one can beat you in any game!"

Yugi chuckled modestly and scratched his head. "So it is."

The Snow Pharaoh growled quietly as he kept his cold glaring eyes at the pot water. "No one can defeat you in any game, he says. Is that what those fools believe?" He said in a cold baritone voice, caressing his Millennium Pendant. "We'll just have to see about that, won't we little one?" He eyed on the spiky haired child. "Though, I can't help but notice he does look like me."

The creatures besides him looked with particularity.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Yugi and his friends arrived at the Kame Game Shop which was also Yugi's house after school. "Grandpa! I'm home!" The spiky haired teen called as he astepped into the warm lobby. Behind him, Téa escorted a shivering Joey and Tristan who looked cold as death and let out huge loud sneezes that nearly blew away the card stacks and mini posters on the counter.

"H-h-how d-d-did I l-l-let you t-t-t-talk me into...t-t-this...s-s-s-stamina game!" Tristan gritted through his chattering teeth.

"Y-y-you-ACHOO! You're t-t-the one who-who-ACHOO! C-c-challenged me!" Joey chattered back. Another sneeze exploded from his mouth. A frozen booger hung from underneath his nostril like an icicle.

"It was both of your faults." Tèa put in firmly, hands on her hips. "What lunkheads would stand around in their underpants when it's freezing cold outside?"

"Hey, i-i-it's a m-m-man's s-s-sport!" Joey sputtered. "The R-R-Russians used to d-d-do it in the f-f-forties! ACHOO!"

"Did someone call for me?" An elderly man's voice followed. A short senior man wearing a bandanna over his gray hair and overalls approached from the doorway and stood behind the counter.

"Hey, Grandpa!" Yugi greeted.

"Hello, everyone." Mr. Solomon Mutou smiled.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Mutou," Téa added.

Joey and Tristan just stood stiff, stammering freezingly between sentences.

"Are you two alright, boys?" Solomon asked them in concern.

"ACHOO!" That was their response. Their white mucuses splatted on the floor and hung from their noses and mouths.

"Ew!" Tèa exclaimed.

"Goodness! It seems that you two got bit of pneumonia," Solomon said.

"Joey and Tristan challenged each other to some kind of endurance contest to see who can stand the cold the longest." Yugi explained.

"And then they had to take off all their clothes," Téa added. "And stood under five inches of snow in their undergarments for like thirty minutes."

"Really?" Solomon's gray eyes widened in amazement.

"I...w-w-won!" Joey declared. "I'm the s-s-strongest! ACHOO!"

"D-d-did not!" Tristan retaliated. "You dropped t-t-two seconds, b-b-before I...d-d-did!" He paused to cough. He moaned and held his burning head. "Oh my head! Why's the room spinning?"

Solomon shook his head and tsked at them. "Come with me, you two. I've got just the remedy for colds." He walked toward the backroom. Yugi and Tèa followed behind, escorting their frozen friends.

The children sat at the kitchen table with mugs of hot chocolate. Joey and Tristan were wrapped tightly around in fleece wool blankets, still shivering and looking pale. Solomon was in the kitchen preparing a pot full of bubbling reddish brown chili. He hummed cheerfully as he sliced up some peppers, plopped horseradishes in the substance and stirred.

"Can your grandpa really get rid of Joey and Tristan's bad colds?" Téa asked.

"My grandpa has a cure for everything," Yugi answered. "He can cure stomach bugs, fevers, small pox, you name it."

"You lucky to have a grandpa like him," Téa smiled.

"My grandpa raised me from the time when I was baby," Yugi said. "He's like a one-man father figure who made sure I had everything. Of course, he's the only family that I knew."

"And there's no other relative?" Téa asked.

Yugi shook his head. "Nope."

"You have no relatives at all. Just Grandpa?"

"Yep." Yugi sipped his chocolate.

"Hmm..." Téa stirred her chocolate.

"Can't ya hurry it, Mr. Mutou? I'm dyin' ova here!" Joey whined.

"You big ba-ba-baby! You spent half an hour against the ice flakes in your boxers and you're whining over a little cold?" Tristan snapped.

"You're lucky I can barely move!" Joey retorted. "Or else I woulda smack you upside the head!"

"I need some female friends," Téa mumbled.

"So what's for dinner, Grandpa?" Yugi asked. "What are we having?"

Solomon came back in the dinner room, carrying the hot pot. "You'll like this one. I call it my Flaming Wasabi Hot Cooldown Chili'." He said as he scooped a ladle of chili in each of the children's bowls. "One spoon of that and your whole body will feel like a hundred degrees."

Téa and Yugi took their spoons and blew on the steaming hot chili.

Joey and Tristan chomped a whole spoonfuls into their mouths and no two seconds later, the extreme spiciness hit their taste buds. As Grandpa foretold, their faces redden up like a Fahrenheit thermometer and their eyes filled up with seeping salty water. They howled in agony and breathed out fires from their burning tongues. Yugi and Téa gasped and gawked.

Joey and Tristan launched from their seats and rummaged around the kitchen in attempt to find something to put out the fires. Joey opened the window and dunked his head in the snow on the pane.

Tristan switched the sink faucet all the way around and gulped cold water as much as he could. They both sighed contently and slouched on the floor. Their faces were red and steam puffed out of their mouths and noses.

"Well, I did hint that my chili will leave you rather 'fervent'." Solomon chuckled.

"It worked. I feel like tha cold has suddenly left me," Joey said, tears still flowing from his eyes.

"Me too." Tristan sniffled and wiped his flaming nose.

"Of course it did." Solomon chuckled.

"Really good chili, Grandpa." Yugi complimented. "And good chocolate too."

"They really hits the spot, Mr. Mutou." Tèa added. "Thank you."

"Good." Solomon smiled in satisfaction and clapped his hands. "Now then, would anyone like to hear a story?"

"No offense, Mr. Mutou, but aren't we a little too old for stories?" Tristan asked.

"Right. And I supposed you're too old to be drinking hot chocolate or standing in your underwear for so long?" Solomon returned. Joey and Tristan looked at each other sheepishly.

"Grandpa's stories are really fascinating," Yugi added. "I think you'll like them."

"With a weather like this, this will definitely put you in the mood," Grandpa smiled. "Everybody into the living room."

The group got up from the table and made their way to the living room, bringing their leftovers with them. They gathered around on the sofa and easy chair while Grandpa stood in the center. "Now then, is everybody all comfy?"

"Yep!" Everyone agreed.

"Alright then," Solomon cleared his throat. "This is the tale told behind winter. It's the story of a man whose ability is to create ice and snow with his bare hands. This is the story of the Snow Pharaoh."

"Oh yeah, Yug's told us about dat." Joey said.

"We already know about the Snow Pharaoh," Tristan said. "He can control blizzards, lives in his Ice Pyramid, and freezes his opponents in his board games and stuff."

"Yes, but where exactly did the Snow Pharaoh come from? That is the story I'm about to tell you," Solomon said.

The children quieted down as Mr. Mutou began to tell the origin of the Snow Pharaoh.


	2. The Origin of the Snow Pharaoh

**[Updated: 8/10/2016**

" _Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful and majestic kingdom made entirely out of sand and gold. The summer sun always shone its warm rays, the people were smiling, and the beautiful sparkling Nile River stretched across the arid golden land of Egypt."_ Solomon described.

As his grandfather narrates the story, Yugi and his friends closed their eyes and began to use their imagination.

" _Egypt was ruled by a fair and selfless king named Pharaoh Aknamkanon and his beautiful wife, Queen Nephitti. Both were very proud of their kingdom and were beloved by everyone...everyone except the pharaoh's twin brother."_

The kids' relaxed smiles faded when Solomon came to that part.

" _Nobody knew exactly why, but Aknadin resented his brother more than anything in the world. Being second in line, Aknadin wanted nothing more than to rule Egypt with an iron fist. His heart was full of darkness and frozen solid like the ice, for there is not a drop of warmth and kindness."_

The kids groaned and felt sorry for that character.

" _Pharaoh Aknamkanon and Queen Nephitti were very rich and had everything they need. Though they are missing one thing; an heir to carry out the throne._

 _"One night while the couple was sleeping, Bast, the goddess of fertility had come visit them in their dreams. She presaged that they will be granted a baby by the power of Horahkty. She claimed that Nephitti will give birth to a baby boy who will grow up to be a strong man and rule all of Egypt._

 _When the couple woke up the next morning, they were overwhelmed by Bast's message and praised the gods with joy and gratitude."_

Yugi smiled and relaxed as he was growing more fascinated with the story.

" _Nine months later just as Bast foretold, Queen Nephitti was pregnant with their firstborn child," Solomon continued. "Pharaoh Aknamkanon was very excited for his new son to arrive, but was also very nervous for the life of his wife and unborn child. As you can see, childbirth in ancient Egypt can be quite risky and is not uncommon for miscarriages to happen._

 _He prayed to the gods to insure the life of the baby and asked one of his priests, Isis about the future of his son and kingdom. Isis, the wielder of the Millennium Necklace and seer of future, predicted that the future pharaoh will grow into a healthy strong man, will have magical powers, and rule Egypt with an iron hand."_

 _"She also informed the future will be uncertain but she assured that it will be quite epical."_

"Epical." Téa repeated.

" _Queen Nephitti at last gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby boy with golden brown skin, piercing shiny cobalt eyes, and black, red, and blond hair just like his mother's, except of course it was spiky in every direction, shaped-like a morning star. Kind of like yours, Yugi, only with extra streaks of hair across the black area._ " He added to his grandson.

Yugi felt his violet and purple liberty spikes, imagining how the Snow Pharaoh's hair compares.

" _After the baby was born, the six high priests performed a little ritual for the boy for good health. They prayed to the three important Egyptian god monsters of Egypt._

 _The three Egyptian Gods were named Winged Dragon of Ra, Obelisk the Tormenter, and Slifer the Sky Dragon and they were disciples of the great spirit monster Horahtky the Creator of Light who is also our goddess in our world._

 _Each of the three holy monsters presented a very special gifts for the newborn prince. Ra gifted that the boy will be extremely handsome, bold, strong, and wise. Slifer gifted that the newborn pharaoh will be an master of almost all games invented._ "

Téa smiled.

" _And last but not least, Obelisk gave the future king the supernatural ability; the ability to create ice and snow of magic with his bare hands. The royal parents didn't know what for but Obelisk said that it will help him during his reign and bring happiness to his people. He also prophesied that in eons time, an evil force will rise up from the mirror and try to destroy the world again. But the dauntless pharaoh and his monsters will battle against the forces of evil and vanquish Zorc for good, with the help of his 'warm heart'."_

"'Warm heart'?" Yugi repeated and scratched his head. "Wonder what does that mean?"

" _Pharaoh Aknamkanon and Queen Nephitti were blessed to have finally have an heir of their own, a future grand ruler for Egypt. They named him Prince Atem."_

"Atem." Yugi repeated.

"Funny name for a Egyptian prince," Joey commented, sipping the last of his hot chocolate.

"All Egyptians have funny names," Tristan said.

"I think it's handsome," Téa said.

From the magic "eye" window, Pharaoh Atem kept a close watch on the unsuspecting people. "Looks like they're talking about you, Your Highness," Dark Magician said.

" _Atem was an extraordinary child,_ " Solomon proceeded. " _He had a knack for gaming. On his first birthday, Atem was given a pyramid puzzle. In just eight days, he had already solve it. It became his Millennium Pendant, which gives him a boost of strength and magic mana. At an early age, he was the master of Duel Monsters. He was also the master of the Shadow Games which were nothing like regular games, as they are quite dangerous as one wrong move may be your last._ " He said it with a grave face.

Joey, Téa, and Tristan gulped at that.

" _As much as he loved to play games, Atem loved to create his own winter wonderland, using his ice magic given by the gods. He would turn the palace floor into an ice rink with the tap of his foot. He can make ice cubes and snowballs with his bare hands. He could even sculpt monsters out of ice and breathe life into them."_

Yugi's eyes widened with amazement.

" _Prince Atem is also quite mischievous at times. He would sometimes use his ice powers to play tricks on people. He would create snowballs and throw them at the guards. He would freeze people's soups and make their tongues stick onto the icy surfaces and spoons. He would create hail storms at the magician, making them think it's a bad omen from the angry gods. He literally give his tutors the cold shoulders so he could skip out his lessons. He'd even surfaced the palace floor with ice so the line of priests could slip and slid on the ice."_

Joey and Tristan snickered.

" _One of those times while the constructors were building pyramids of Giza, Prince Atem threw a snowball in a stonemason's face, blinding him and causing him to accidentally chip the nose right off of the Sphinx."_

Joey whistled.

"So that's what happened to the Sphinx's nose," Téa said.

"Did Prince Atem really cause the Sphinx's nose to fall?" Yugi asked in amazement.

"Indeed he did," his grandfather answered. "And his parents were not all too pleased. They scolded him at what he done. Of course, Atem thought it was quite funny and claimed that the Sphinx was better off without the nose."

 _"The priests warned the boy that he must not take his ice magic so lightly. The gods granted him his power for a reason. He must learn to control them so that he could be ready to take on the future evil. They warned him that if he goes too far, there will be serious consequences."_

 _"Ignoring the warnings, the young snow prince continued his prankish and reckless nature. As he was mischievous, Atem was also considered a showoff and arrogant little brat. It put an end to his ego when he did something horrible."_

 _"One day when they were having snowball fights in the court area, Atem accidentally struck one of his playmates with an aura snowball. It permanently damaged the child's leg and she agonizingly cried so loud, the whole palace heard. Her parents, guards, and the royal parents ran into scene, horrified at what they saw. The doctors had to amputate the girl's leg because to the severe frostbite. The children saw what Atem has done and ran away from him in fear."_

 _"Struck with extreme guilt, the Snow Prince locked himself in his room and vowed never to use his ice magic again. Of course, he couldn't run away from his powers. As he was incredibly upset, the flooring, the walls, and decorations of his room crystalized in cold shards. He knew that the gods blessed him with this gift for a reason, and yet he sees his own powers as a curse. His parents tried to knock on his locked door, but the last thing Atem wanted to do is hurt more people, namely his own parents. Priestess Isis and Priest Shiamon whom the prince trusts deeply asked him to let them in his room which he voluntarily did. They assured him that everything will be alright. They advised the boy to be more careful with his powers from now on and use them only for good._

"Hmm-mmm." Yugi nodded.

 _"As Atem grew older, his powers grew more and more powerful. Once the Prince Atem turned Nile River into the world's longest ice rink while taking a bath. The flowing waters solidified around him, the boats and barges stopped moving and the fishes underwater froze in their tracks, becoming trapped within the ice. Anything he touched turns into an ice cube. Poor Atem could not even eat his meal without turning them into snow cones. It was incredibly frustrating._

 _Atem could not keep his ice power under control in certain important times, especially as ceremonies and rituals._

 _Whenever he got excited, a wave of ice particles exploded from within him and sprinkled guests with diamond dust."_

 _If he gets overly upset, he could turn the whole kingdom into an ice age. In attempt to prevent this happening, he would lock himself in his bedroom and would not come out until his 'storm' within him eases up and passes."_

 _"Some of the people of Egypt grew more afraid him. Even his teachers and friends see Atem as a freak, rather than a poor misunderstood person with special powers. Atem eventually grew into a misunderstood lonely boy with no one to talk with."_

 _"Pharaoh Aknamkanon and Queen Nephitti worried about their son. They prayed to the gods for help over their son. They asked the three gods, Obelisk, Ra, and Slifer what would become of their son. How will he learn to control his powers? Would he become a monster or a great snow pharaoh?_

 _The gods told them that they must have faith in their son. Eventually, the Snow Pharaoh will overcome his fears and he will save the world from annihilation. And even if his heart were to become frozen, someone with the warmest heart will stand up to him and melt his heart. Together they will vanquish the evil force and save the entire universe_."

"Again with this 'warm heart'," Yugi said, getting confused.

"That's mind-boggling," Téa said.

"Hmmm..." Joey hummed.

" _The priests summoned their Ka spirits for Atem to play with. Pharaoh Aknamkanon and Queen Nephitti brought life into the monsters tablet so that their son could have friends and he would not get lonely. Atem loved playing with his newfound friends. His monsters were originally Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl._

 _Of course, Atem wanted to create more monsters. Using his glacial magic, he create an collection of monster sculptures and breathed life into them. Each of them had personalities and possess special abilities of their own."_

 _"Their names were Kuriboh, Berformet, Curse of Dragon, Big Shield Gardna, Celtic Guardian, Magician of Black Chaos, and several other monsters that Atem denominated. Atem also decided to invent a brand new game."_

 _"Believe it or not, Prince Atem was the one created the first Ice Cube Monsters ever_." Solomon stated. " _Just like the ones of today."_

The kids' widened at that.

 _"Atem had made huge dice out of clathrate hydrates. He'd sheeted the floor tiles with diamond dust to make them grids of the ice board games. Ice Cube Monsters was a big hit in Egypt, nice and refreshing. Atem saw that his powers can bring happiness towards his people."_

 _"One day, when Atem was seventeen, Pharaoh Aknamkanon and Queen Nephitti had to travel to Greece to war against Alexander the Great and his army._

 _Before departing, Aknamkanon told his son to look after the kingdom and reminded him to stay strong and use his powers only for the good of mankind. Atem was anxious as he was now on his own in Egypt._

 _Sadly, neither the king or the queen made it during war, both of them were killed in battle._

 _Egypt mourned for their beloved rulers. The death of his parents struck Atem to his soul. He was so stricken with grief, he filled up his room with ice. He felt all alone, with only his Duel Monsters by his side."_

Yugi's smile faded and fell such sorrow for the pharaoh.

" _So at long last, Prince Atem at age twenty-one, took the crown and become the new pharaoh of Egypt. Although scared on the inside, Pharaoh Atem kept his emotions under control. He knew must be strong, otherwise his kingdom would fall into ruins. Of course, the more he tried to hold it in, the tensive the brewing storm grew inside of him. Whenever he gets angry, upset, or overemotional, his powers would get out of control and do damage on the crops and to royal property. His rage could ignite a blizzard that could bury the city in deep, deep snow."_

 _Atem continued his reign in Egypt and didn't use much of his powers, for he did not want to risk endangering his people. However it wasn't easy for him from the stress of handling everyday problems and political issues. Despite having ice in his veins, Atem still had a bit of warmth in his heart and was willing to help his people. He would bring snow by to the peasants' homes so that the littles ones can build snowmen. He produced a colossal block of ice so that it would melt in the hot sun and watered the crops. He continued to use his powers for good and hosting Ice Cube Monsters tournament. He even considered the craziest idea of transforming his palace into an ice castle and casting a spell on the hot atmospheric sky so that his ice castle can last longer. The priests warned him not to get carried away with his ice powers, reminding him of his promise to his parents. His uncle Akanidin, who was terribly of his nephew's powers, decided to use the king's haughtiness to his advantage._

 _Atem grew more and more reckless with his powers and several people grew afraid of him._

 _Isis looked into the future and saw the destruction of his kingdom, covered in ice. Alarmed, he looked closely at the mirror to find out who was responsible for the destruction of his homeland. To her horror, he discovered that the culprit behind the devastation of his kingdom was none other than himself-the Snow Pharaoh!"_

The kids widened in shock.

" _She saw the pharaoh as a wicked warlock of ice, leaving only destruction in his wake, a cold-blooded pharaoh that cared only about himself. Unable to believe the truth, Isis ran into the temple to warn the priests. She asked where the pharaoh was, they told her that he was at the temple of Anubis with her uncle, said they were talking. Isis informed them that the Snow Pharaoh and kingdom were in danger and must find them before it was too late._

 _Next to the statue of Anubis, Akanidin was brainwashing his nephew into believing that the whole world would fear him and see him as a monster._

 _The priests confronted Akanidin and ordered him to step away from the pharaoh. They threatened to lock him away for attempting to force the pharaoh to abdicate the throne. Taking his uncle's side, Atem turned on his priest and unintentionally warded the priests' with his dangerous ice force._

 _One of them fought back and mistakenly killed Akanidin, right in front of Atem._

Téa cupped her mouth in awfulness.

 _At that moment, the Snow Pharaoh's anger consumed his senses and the dam finally broke. He unleashed a destructive and unstoppable snowstorm that covered the entire kingdom in snow, faster than when Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii with lava. Nobody was safe. No one could stop him. He was a monster, destroying everything in his path. Almost everyone, including half of the six priests froze to death by the king's wrathful curse._

 _By the time it was over, the entire kingdom was buried under six feet of snow. Horrified at what he done, the king of Egypt fled from his kingdom, never to be seen again."_

Yugi and Téa expressed in dismay.

" _Soon afterwards, he settled in the coldest part of the world, believing that where he belonged. He built a colossal pyramid made entirely out of ice with his own magic._

 _His heart was frozen and his personality became cold as the ice, never wanted to make friends again. He sat alone in his pyramid, waiting for someone else to challenge him to a game of Ice Cube Monsters._

 _The only things that were keeping him company were his faithful spirit monsters who always stayed with him by his side like loyal creatures they are. For better or for worse."_

And that, my children is the true story of the Snow Pharaoh." Solomon concluded. "The end."

The kids recoiled on the sofa after a long story. "That was a sad story," Téa said, eyes glistening.

"Talk about a cold snap," Tristan said.

"Pft! Come on!" Joey scoffed. "You expect me ta believe dat nonsense?"

"Well, I for one believe it." Yugi said.

"Me too." Téa said.

From the another dimension, the Snow Pharaoh, formerly Atem and the monsters viewed through an eye-shaped portal. Atem, the former ruler of Egypt casted his icy night blue eyes on the quadrant of teens. He focused mainly on a short teenaged boy hair with black, purple, and blond spiky hair and purple eyes. "He thinks he knows everything about me?" He thought out loud. "He has no idea what I went through."

"That spiky-haired kid looks a lot like you, Your Highness." Dark Magician commented. "A very strong likeness. He could be your twin brother."

"Hmph...well, the boy does look a lot like me." The Snow Pharaoh's eyebrows lowered, eying on the cheerful tricolored teenager. "Still, his skills compared nothing to mine. He appears no threat to me." He folded his cold tanned arms.

"Well, I think it's time that's enough stories for tonight," Solomon said. "It's time Yugi and I start heading in to bed early."

"How come?" Joey asked.

"So I can start packing and get ready to leave tomorrow morning." Solomon answered

"Where are you going, Mr. Mutou?" Tristan asked.

"I'm driving on the countryside to my friend's house," the elder game shop owner answered. "I have to discuss the game marketing strategy with my business partner, Peter. Got to get him to sign a few contracts, otherwise we won't make any money off of Ice Cube Monsters."

"Cool." Yugi said.

"With dat extra money, maybe you could buy a sporting car, like a Porsche." Joey said.

"Or maybe a bigger house and shop," Tristan added.

"True, but I think we stick to our old-fashionable home and shop," Solomon said. "After all, this is our life started where I raised little Yugi and I wouldn't give up any old memories for anything in this world."

Yugi chuckled in agreement. "That's totally true." He added in cheerfully.

"I'll clear the dishes for you before I go to bed, Grandpa." Yugi said helpfully.

"I'll help too if you like," Tèa volunteered.

"Thanks, Téa." Yugi gratified as he picked up the bowls.

"Such helpful children," Solomon said. "Kids today should be more like you."

Tristan and Joey rolled their eyes and snorted quietly.

Téa cheerfully hummed as she bent over the coffee table to pick up the cups. When she stood back up, she caught a glimpse of a round picture mirror on the wall...WHICH displayed the face of the Snow Pharaoh, watching them closely the whole time! She gasped and shrieked in surprise, dropping the dishes on the floor.

Yugi, Solomon, Joey, and Tristan heard the noise and turned their heads in concern. "Téa, are you alright?" The short spiky-haired teen asked.

"What happened?" Joey asked.

Téa was so spooked she was unable to speak.

"Why did you scream?" Tristan asked.

Tèa blinked her eyes and managed to choke out. "I...I...I saw him!"

"Saw who?" Yugi asked.

"The Snow Pharaoh," Tèa answered.

"Snow Pharaoh?" The boys repeated.

"I was picking up the dishes and I saw his face right in that mirror!" The blue-eyed brunette pointed to the wall mirror.

The boys scooted over and took a gander at the reflection. "I don't see anything," Joey said.

"Me neither," Tristan said. "Except for this pretty face." He grinned at himself in the reflection.

"There's nothing in the mirror, Tèa." Yugi said.

"But he was there, just a minute ago!" Tèa proclaimed. "I saw his face!

"You're probably just seeing things," Tristan said.

"You probably just saw an ugly picture and it scared you." Joey added.

Tèa shook her head in denial. "It wasn't an ugly picture, I know what I saw!" She insisted. "He must have been watching us the whole time! He was dark, had red eyes and a spiky hairdo just like Yugi's, only with red outlines, and he was...he was..." She paused. "He was very handsome." She finished with awe and admiration in her eyes.

"Come on, Téa! Dat Snow Pharaoh is just a made-up story, right guys?" Joey turned to his friends.

They were all silent. "Am I right?" Joey asked again.

"Did I say it was a made-up story?" Solomon said. "The Snow Pharaoh sees through his Millennium Pendant. The crystal Eye of Wdjat allows him to see through our world. It is no surprise that you will see his face in the mirror. He must be looking for a worthy opponent."

"An opponent? What do you mean?" Téa asked.

"He scopes our world, searching for someone stronger." Solomon explained. "You see, he doesn't always spend time in his Icy Pyramid. He rides on his magic snow horse and travels to our world in pursuit of a duel against a fierce foe. During his quest, he brings in snowstorms wherever he goes, even in the warmest climates. With a touch of his hand, he can coat a whole building in ice. From where you live, when it snows heavily in the winter, that would mean that the Snow Pharaoh is coming. He must have his eyes set on one of you kids."

"In dat's the case, he must have his eyes set on me," Joey said, full of himself. "I do know a thing about dueling or too. Other than good-looking, I'm pretty unbeatable!"

"Oh please! You couldn't hold your deck together in Duel Monsters!" Tristan retorted.

"No, but I can hold your head in a lock!" The blond-haired teen placed his pointy haired friend's head in a headlock and the two started quarreling.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say the Snow Pharaoh has his eyes set on Yugi." Solomon guessed. "He is an perfectly skilled gamer. He is the champion of almost every tournament."

"Aw, come on, Grandpa." Yugi said modestly, scratching his hair. "I'm not that great."

"You are the best, Yugi," Téa added. "And you're not conceited like the Snow Pharaoh." She turned to Mr. Muto. "Today at school, he creamed one of our rivals at school in Ice Cube Monsters. That guy never even had a chance. Either he sucked at Ice Cube Mobsters or Yugi is just a good gamer."

"Is that so? Well, I did teach my boy a few tricks," Solomon said proudly.

"Do think he may be eying on me? Do you think he'll come to Domino City and look for me?" Yugi asked.

"He'd probably would," Téa said.

"I won't worry about dat, Yug," Joey said. "If he tries ta lay a finger on ya, I'll protect you.

"Heck, if he tries to break into this game shop, we put him in a hot stove and watch him melt!" Tristan added with a confident smirk.

"Oh yeah!" The older boys grinned and slapped hands. The group laughed.

"That'll teach the Snow Pharaoh not to come in here!" Téa grinned.

"Thanks guys!" Yugi chuckled.

Watching through the Eye of Wdjat, the Snow Pharaoh growled in disdain and clenched his fist tightly. Sometimes he hated seeing people happy together, when they speak lightly of him. It made him feel jealous. Worst of all, he hated when mortals brag and say they could take on the Snow Pharaoh just like that. "What foolish children!" He boomed. "Thinking they could challenge me? Such repulsive attitude!" He turned his back and banged his fist upon the arm of his throne. "No one can surpass the Snow Pharaoh! NO ONE! Certainly not some mere light-skinned child who happened to have the same hairstyle as mine!"

"Of course not, Your Majesty," Dark Magician loyally agreed. "They're only bluffing."

The Snow Pharaoh took a deep breath and turned back to the eye window, catching a glimpse of Solomon's face. He glared at the old man, fuming like he had a bone to pick with him.

"You kids should be head home before it gets dark," Solomon informed the three friends. "The weatherman said to expect more snow tonight, so I suggest you dress warmly."

"Will do, Mr. Mutou," Téa said, putting on her pink coat and earmuffs.

"Thanks for the chili and everything, Mr. Mutou," Tristan said, putting on his gloves.

"Take care and have fun on the countryside, Mr. M." Added Joey as he put on his hat. "See you at school, Yug." He patted his best friend's shoulder as he and his friends started heading out the game shop store.

"Bye, guys! See you later! Be careful walking on the sidewalk!" Yugi waved good-bye to his friends before heading upstairs of the Kame Game Shop. He peeled off his school uniform and stepped inside a hot tub. As he was soaking up, he looked out at the window, watching the snowflakes fall down. He wondered if spirits in those flakes are watching him right now.

After bathing, he changed into his pajamas, brushed his teeth and retired to his bedroom. His room was loaded with Duel Monsters posters, toys, video games, and board games, especially the new set, Ice Cube Monsters.

There were also shelves of trophies and ribbons, from every game tournament he participated, such chess, Duel Monsters, and of course, from the Ice Cube Monster tournament at the Domino Snow Festival. There was also a karaoke machine with CDs and trophies. Apparently, he was also a talented singer who loved to sing with all his heart.

Sitting in his bed, Yugi looked up his roof window, watching the "snow bees" coagulated the corners of the glass. His round eyes shimmered and thought out loud. "Snow Pharaoh, if you're out there watching..." he spoke up softly. "I just want to let you know that you don't have be alone. You'll always have a friend in the world. I know you still have a warm heart inside. If you do exist, give me a sign or anything."

He laid down on his bed and was about to turn in when he heard crackling from his roof window. He gasped and looked up in startlement. He saw the ice on the glass had formed into a shape of an eye.

"What?" Yugi uttered in queer. He stood up from the bed and stared at the eye. "What in the world?" He frowned with curiosity.

" _Yugi_..." A voice whispered to him.

"Huh?" Yugi turned his head.

" _Yugi_..." The voice called to him again.

"Is someone there?" The small boy asked.

" _Yugi_..." It was coming from the full length mirror between his bed and desk. Yugi walked toward the mirror and saw only his reflection. He cocked his head in curiousity.

The "eye" ice rime on the window glass spread and thickened. Yugi felt the temperature in his room drop. He shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. "Brr! Where'd that cold come from? What's going on?" Cold breath emitted from his mouth.

" _Yugi_..."

Yugi turned back to the mirror. His reflection has distorted into a different person this time. It was an older young man who resembled Yugi, except he had the red outlines on his hair, lightning streaks, dark bronze skin, blood red eyes, and a cerulean cape over his snow white Egyptian tunic and shendyt (with a snowflake design on it) tied in a blue belt.

Yugi gasped in surprise as he recognized that man in the reflection. It was the Snow Pharaoh, THE Snow Pharaoh from Grandpa's story!

He was for real. And he's watching him through a mirror!

"Y-y-you...you're the...the..." Yugi stuttered.

"Yes, little one. I am..." The distorted reflection replied deeply and folded his muscular arms. "...The one and only true ruler of snow spirits and king of Ice Cube Monsters. I am Atem, the Snow Pharaoh."

Yugi gaped in speechlessness. The mythical ice ruler in the mirror actually spoke to him! "I have come for you, Yugi Muto." He even knew his name.

"For me? How did you know my name?" Yugi asked in speechlessness.

"I shall test your strength and skills in a round of Ice Cube Monsters," the former ice ruler of Egypt interposed. "You will come with me to my Ice Pyramid, and that's not voluntary." He said it with serious red eyes.

"Huh? What? How?" The confused Yugi babbled.

The Snow Pharaoh blew a cloud of ice dust from his cold hand at the young boy's face to knock him out.

Yugi's large purple eyes blinked, melting the sparkling particles before they could touch his face.

"What?" The Snow Pharaoh gasped in surprise. That has never happened before. No one could resist his sleeping ice dust.

Yugi peered innocently. "What was that?" His face neared closer to the mirror. The Snow Pharaoh backed away, eying at the young warm-hearted child. The monsters looked at him queerly. "Your Majesty?" Dark Magician spoke up.

Yugi gazed upon the glittering dark-skinned of the pharaoh in the mirror and smiled. The Snow Pharaoh frowned and stared back at the tricolored boy inquisitively. He felt warm waves coming from the boy's sunny face. Suddenly, he felt a sharp shooting pain through his heart. He yelped in pain and held his chest ad he backed away from the all-seeing Eye of Wjdat which stopped glowing and the reflection of Snow Pharaoh disappeared from the mirror.

"Wait, don't go, Snow Pharaoh!" Yugi called after him. "Where'd you go?"

As the full length mirror restored to normal, the last of the Snow Pharaoh's magic encrusted the window frames with more snow and the wind pushed the windows open, allowing the freezing draft swooshed into his room and bringing snow upon the floors and dressers. A lamp on his desk knocked over and crashed into the floor. Yugi gasped at the unexpected weather invading his room.

In the Icy Pyramid, the Snow Pharaoh wobbly stood on his feet, nearly falling. He held his burning chest tight. "What's wrong? What happened, my liege?" Berformet asked in concern.

The Snow Pharaoh exhaled deeply and rubbed his sore chest. "Nothing, it is nothing." He replied in his cool tone.

The monsters looked at each other in queer.

Yugi stood in the middle of his snow-ridden room, astounded at what just happened here. "Whoa!"

His grandfather entered his bedroom when he heard a commotion. "Yugi? Are you alright?" He then gawked at the mess. "Oh my goodness! What a mess!" He exclaimed. "There must have been a terrible draft in here. Kooky weather we've been having."

"Grandpa, you're not going to believe it, but I just saw him!" Yugi exclaimed excitedly. "He was right inside my mirror!"

"Who?" Solomon asked as he cleaned up the snow.

"The Snow Pharaoh. He looked at me straight in the eye! Through the reflection." He pointed to the full length mirror.

"What are you talking about?" Grandpa asked and peered through the mirror.

"He spoke to me through and said he wanted to duel me in a game of Ice Cube Monsters." Yugi continued rambling on. "He was just like you described in the story. He was handsome, dark skinned, and he looked a lot like me! Téa was telling the truth."

"Really?" Solomon looked amazed. "Well, I'm not surprised to hear that. Did the Snow Pharaoh try to sprinkle snow dust in your face?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact he did." His grandson answered. "Why?"

"That's how he tries to get you to play his game. He knocks you out so he can bring you into his pyramid and he's not the type of the person who takes no for an answer."

"Oh. They melted away before they could get to my face. I guess maybe it's because it was too warm here." He scratched his head innocently.

"Actually, it's because your rosy cheeks contained an overload of warmth, too powerful for the ice dust to take effect. The Snow Pharaoh's magic are powerless against warm hearts."

"I see." Yugi looked at his grandfather, feeling a hint of unease. "Do you think he'll really come after me? After all, he does have the power to control blizzards. He could try to take me during a whiteout."

"He won't enter here, Yugi. I assure you, you are safe in here." Solomon promised.

"How do you know?"

"I know, Yugi. It's warm in here and the Snow Pharaoh doesn't like going to places where it's warm." His kind grandfather smiled

"You won't ever leave me, right Grandpa?"

"Of course not, my son. I'd protect you with my life."

"If there was a secret, would you tell me?" Yugi pried more.

Solomon frowned. "Depends by what do you mean 'secret'?"

"If there was something that you're hiding, would you tell me?"

Solomon looked at him like he said something wrong. "Now why would you ask that, Yugi?"

"I don't know. I'm just asking." He shrugged.

"Oh Yugi. I could never hide things from you. I am your grandfather. I would never keep anything from you, no matter what."

Yugi smiled lightly and naturally accepted his grandfather's answer.

"Now then, you should be sleeping now, son," Solomon said. "It's a school night. And I have to be leaving tomorrow morning."

"Yes sir. Goodnight, Grandpa." Yugi crawled up on his bed.

"Goodnight Yugi." He turned off the lights and closed the door behind him.

With the bedroom completely dark, Yugi turned the covers over him and closed his eyes. "Goodnight, Snow Pharaoh," he murmured and drifted to sleep.

In his dreams, a line of lyrics flowed through his unconscious mind, playing an enigmatic yet soothing tune:

 **Come now, hush little one,**

 **Listen to me and embrace the words of this foreign euphony.**

 **Rest your head on my warm gold blanket and row your thoughts upstream,**

 **Over the waters of the gentle river,**

 **The river called the Nile Lullaby**

 **I will take you far and wide, away from the cold dark dudgeon,**

 **My soft gentle voice will guide you and steer you clear of danger,**

 **Drown all the nightmares chasing you,**

 **In the waters of the Nile Lullaby**

 **Somewhere out there, there is someone lonely, waiting for you,**

 **Yearning to hold you again,**

In the picture of the dream, a small boy with spiky hair was bundled in the arms of some stranger, possibly his lost father.

 **Someday, you will be reunited,**

 **By the guide words of this Nile Lullaby...**

The picture faded after the boy departed from his father, hoping to be reunited again.

Yugi smiled in his sleep as he is familiar with that song. It felt as if was somewhere, sometime, in a far away place, in the time of his birth.

Back inside the Icy Pyramid, the recovered Snow Pharaoh looked back into the Eye of Wdjat and studied the boy one. "Such a sweet naive little boy," he said. "He has no idea what the Snow Pharaoh can do." His piercing red eyes narrowed. He switched eye projection to Solomon who was packing his suitcase. "And you, old man, did you honestly think you can hide him from me? Well, mark my words that I will not to be taken lightly."

He eradicated the Eye of Wdjat, cutting off the window to the real world.

The Snow Pharaoh walked toward the doors, and exited the throne room. His monsters followed him. "Where are you going, Your Majesty?" Dark Magician Girl asked.

The Snow Pharaoh did not answer. He walked down the stairs which was also made of ice. He passed through quiet hallways. The tombs were occupied with statues made of ice, depicting late warriors who challenged the Snow Pharaoh to a game of Ice Game Monsters and lost. Apparently they are no match for the unbeatable ice king and had to spend an eternity in frozen sleep.

The monsters tailed their master, pondering what is up.

"What is going on with the Snow Pharaoh?" Dark Magician Girl asked with pique.

"I'm not so sure," Dark Magician said. "I had never seen him act like that.

Kuriboh below the taller monster's feet, squeaked, wondering if the encounter with that mortal boy might have something to do with the Snow Pharaoh's strange behavior.

The Snow Pharaoh finally arrived at the first floor and stepped out the pyramid doors. His feet padded on the white snow. He took a moment to enjoy the cold air that brushed against his body and hair, which is exactly how he like it.

The monsters finally caught up to him outside. Some of them gasped and panted after chasing after their master.

"Okay, what you doing, Snow Pharaoh?" Dark Magician Girl demanded. "What is up?"

"Celtic Guardian!" The Snow Pharaoh summoned.

"Yes, sire?" His elf swordsman responded.

"Fetch me my horse." The Snow Pharaoh ordered.

"Right away, sire." Celtic Guardian ran off to get the royal horse.

"Where are you going, Your Highness?" The Dark Magician Girl asked once again.

"Bringing the boy to my pyramid was a setback," the pharaoh answered mysteriously. "I just need rethink my procedures of getting the boy here."

The monster's cocked their eyebrows and heads with confusion.

Celtic Guardian returned with the pharaoh's white horse. "Here you are, sire."

"Thank you." The Snow Pharaoh walked up to his horse and mounted on it. "I'll be stepping out for a while. You will watch over things while I'm gone, Dark Magician."

"Understood, Your Majesty." His loyal monster bowed down.

"We'll watch over things while you're gone," Dark Magician Girl added. "Right, guys?"

The monsters behind her agreed. Dark Shadow Magus strangely wasn't present among them.

Above, aurora borealis streamed across the night sky and showered colorful rays. The Snow Pharaoh reined his magical horse and urged it to move.

The horse sprinted over the snow and elevated higher in the air where it trotted over rays of the aurora like they were ramps. The monsters watched as their master ride and fly over the colorful bands and disappeared to the vortex which transports to another dimension that is our modern Earth.

"There he goes," Dark Magician Girl said.

"Off on another mission," Winged Dragon said.

"I wonder what challenger he will back next?" Celtic Guardian

"I hope he knows what he's doing," Dark Magician said.

"I hope he brings back a souvenir," Big Shield Gardna said.

Kuriboh squeaked.

Back inside the vacate throne room, Great Shadow Magus was at the half-complete mirror that the Snow Pharaoh was working on, chuckling deviantly.

"You shall be revived in no time, my true liege." He bowed in worship of the dark mirror. "That fool, the Snow Pharaoh is bringing . Showing him that mirror was the best thing Akanidin did, and now his heart is as frozen as ice. Once this mirror is complete, he will be dealt with and the whole world will be yours, Almighty Zorc Necrophedes! HA HA HA HA HA!"

In response, a pair of red evil eyes appeared in the dark cracked surface, a sign that the fearsome god of evil Zorc is ready to be released from his prison.

All he needed was a little more time...


	3. The Blizzard

**[Updated: 8/29/2016]**

The next morning, Solomon was finished packing his belongings in the trunk of his Buick. "Packed everything you need, Grandpa?" Yugi asked.

"I sure hope so," his grandpa replied as he slammed the trunk door down and dusted his hands.

"How long will you be staying there, Grandpa?" Yugi asked.

"Only for a day." Solomon answered. "I'll be back just in time for the Domino Snow Festival." He slammed the trunk down and turned to his grandson. "Will you be alright all by yourself for until tomorrow night?"

"Of course, Grandpa. I'll be just fine," Yugi asserted. "I'm nearly eighteen. I can handle things by myself." He smiled angelically.

Solomon smiled back and gave his grandson a hug. "I know you will. I trust you. This is a perfect opportunity for you to learn how to do everything on your own. One day I won't be here to look out for you anymore. You'll eventually have to live on your own."

"I know." Yugi said, feeling anxious about being alone. "I knew you would say something like that."

"But don't you worry." Solomon quickly assured him. "No matter where I am, I'll always be with you." He smiled and patted his grandson on the shoulder. "And besides that, you are a lot stronger than you think. Never underestimate the power of your warm heart."

Yugi smiled securely.

The garage door opened up. Solomon slowly backed his car out and over the driveway. Yugi, all set for school, stood beside the closed game shop as he watched his grandfather's Buick completely leave the driveway and move on to the streets. Solomon rolled the window down. "You take care of yourself. Look after the store while I'm gone."

"You have fun on the countryside and say hello to Peter for me," Yugi said.

"I love you."

"Love you too, Grandpa." Yugi waved.

Solomon waved good-bye to his grandson one last time and drove away to the countryside of Japan to see his business partner.

"See you tomorrow, Grandpa." Yugi said and took off for school.

* * *

Light snow sprinkled over Domino City. More roofs of buildings, shops, and houses were blanketed with mounds of fresh snow. Owners of the shops grumbled as they had to shovel snow from their entrances. The window washers had to chip ice off the windows of buildings. Police officers were keeping traffic under control under the weather. The cop would now and then blow his whistle and signaled the other cars to pass carefully in the intersections.

The Tokyo Tower stood high over the city, sending out broadcasts of news, reports, and updates of the February weather. "Today's forecast shall be cloudy, with a 60% chance of snow, weather should be good for tomorrow in time Domino Snow Festival." The weatherman announced.

The Domino Park was a playground full of white snow. A couple of youth skated on a frozen pond. An elderly lady sat on the bench, feeding the birds. The participants were at work, carving on huge blocks of ice, shaping them into famous characters from tv shows, movies, and manga. There was also a mountain of ice sculptures carved into Duel Monsters.

Things were calm and still for Domino City...for the moment.

Inside the Domino High School, students were cooped up in a classroom with their teacher, Mr. Yoshima yapping about history and economics. Most of them, namely Joey were bored and wished they would just leave class and jumped out from the windows to the snows of freedom.

"In the year 1983, the stock market rose up by building cars, distributed by the Toyota industry..."

Yugi sat in middle row, writing some notes. He thought about his grandfather who is on a one-day business trip. He pondering if his grandpa had made it to his partner's house yet. He's been apart from his grandfather before, even for long periods of time. He just wasn't used to having his grandfather far away from the city. He had always been together with his grandfather and it was his first time being by himself.

He shook that anxious feeling away and silently assured himself that his grandfather was only going to the countryside and talked to his business. He will be staying there only for one night. He will be back home tomorrow, safe and sound. Everything will be just as normal and nothing extraordinary will happen out of the blue. Besides, the Domino Snow Festival is coming up and he should be looking forward to that.

"Psst!" A whisper pierced into his concentration.

Yugi looked behind him. Joey sitting two rows behind waved to him. He began to jot something down. Yugi turned back to chalkboard where the teacher wrote a diagram of the economic system. "The government passed down a law to exchange goods and trade to oversee..."

The other students yawned and nodded off in boredom. Yugi looked down and took more notes.

"Psst! Ahem!" Yugi was interrupted again when a student sitting behind him was passing a piece of folded notebook paper to him. He took it, opened it up, and read: **Your Grandpa gone already?**

Yugi turned to the kid who passed him the note behind him. The kid pointed backwards, indicating that the note was from Joey Wheeler who waved and grinned.

Yugi eyed on his best friend in peculiarity and wrote down a reply message. He gave the message to the student behind him and he passed it back to Joey.

Joey read: **He left just this morning.**

 **Any plans now dat ur alone?** Joey wrote back and passed it back to his best friend.

Yugi wrote back and replied: **Nothing special. It'll be just like any other day. I'm just going to look after the store.**

Joey wrote back: **Gonna have a party?**

Yugi shook his head and wrote: **Nah, I promised my grandpa I'll behave.**

They passed on notes to another. **No party? Man, if I was on my own, I'd throw in a big bash of da year!**

 **Yeah, but then I'll have to clean up afterwards. Besides Grandpa will only be gone for one day. He said he'll be back in time for Snow Festival.**

 **You coming, Yug?**

 **Wouldn't miss it.** He turned around and gave his best friend thumbs up.

 **Planning on winning da Ice Cube Monsta Tournament trophy again as usual?**

(The Ice Cube Monsters Tournament was also taking place in Domino Snow Festival.)

 **You know I always do.** Yugi was about to pass on the last note when they were soon interrupted by the voice of annoyance.

"Ahem!" Mr. Yoshima cleared his throat loudly and folded his arms. "Am I boring you, boys? Is there something you find it more interesting than my economy lesson?"

"I was just passing on messages." The student who was passing notes between interposed. "I'm not part of this conversation."

"We were just talking about the Domino Snow Festival, sir." Yugi said.

"Yeah, we were only discussing about our strategy to win at the Ice Cube Monster Tournament," Joey added suavely. "Not about what you're thinking that we are thinking."

"That's very nice." Mr. Yoshima replied, sounding rigorous. "You and Mr. Mutou can talk about Snow Festival when my class is over. When you hear me lecturing, that means class is still in session. When class is still session, it is an officially a no-talking zone. Whoever talks during class and/or makes a interruption will spend another couple of hours in my class after school. Do I make myself clear, class?"

"Yes, sir. We understand." The entire classroom responded in unison.

Tristan rolled his eyes and snorted quietly.

"I mean you, Mister Taylor." Mr. Yoshima shot sternly at the pointy haired teen.

"Who, me?" Tristan asked. "I didn't say anything

A few students snickered. Téa shook her head.

"As I was saying..." the teacher continued.

"Old fart," Tristan muttered. Téa giggled.

As the economy teacher rambled on, Yugi looked outside the window, gazing at the snowy Domino City.

* * *

Snow poured gently from the gray skies until the clouds suddenly moved and began shifting formation. More snow powdered in the city. People looked up and noticed the weather had an unexpected increase. The sculptors at Domino Park also received more snowflakes as they were preparing the ice statues of characters and monsters for the Domino Snow Festivals. "Oh wow, it's snowing harder." A female sculptor said.

"That's no surprise." Her co-worker said. "February weather is always unpredictable like this."

"Better get this done ASAP." The supervisor said as he and the crew raced to get the sculpture done before a blizzard might happen.

As snow continuously sprinkled down Domino City, something unexpected is occurring in the sky. The nimbus clouds swirled into a loop, forming into some kind of eye, similar to a polar low, yet it appeared in the cities of Japan instead of either north of south poles!

Just then, a white horse carrying a bronze-colored man with spiky tricolored hair emerged from the eye and it floated lightly in the air, hovering over the city. It is the Snow Pharaoh! He has arrived in the mortal world. "So this is the mortal world?" The beige-skinned ice ruler said. "Things seemed to have changed much." He viewed more of the cityscape below. "Though these humans still seemed be a tad bit ignorant."

The people in the city were so busy and preoccupied, nearly none of them noticed the unusual phenomenal in the sky. Probably because they were so absorbed in their iPhones and electronics. Or probably it's from the magic of these snowflakes that shrouded their eyes.

The Snow Pharaoh clicked his horse and trotted on the roofs of the buildings, trailing more drifts of snow.

The students in the classroom looked out the window. "Hey, look it's snowing again!" A girl pointed it out.

"You're right! It is snowing!" A boy said.

"Yippie! More snow!" A school girl piped up. The other students murmured.

"Okay, okay. Yes, it is snowing, class." Mr. Yoshima said. "Now let's get back to the lesson..."

Yugi examined the snowflakes. "That's weird. The weatherman said there was a fifty-percent chance that it might stop."

"Weathermen are always wrong," a classmate said.

Joey and Tristan peered at the snowflakes with interest.

"Class, class, let's get on with our lessons," Mr. Yoshima tapped his ruler.

A student rose his hand. "Yes? You got a question?" The economics teacher accepted.

"If there's a blizzard, does that mean school get cancelled?" The student asked.

"Yeah, dat'd be cool," Joey said. "No school would mean no homework for us!" He grinned in hope.

"Yeah!" The other students nodded and agreed.

"I didn't do my homework last night anyway." Commented another student.

"Settle down, class. I seriously doubt that'll happen, Mr. Chaipan and Mr. Wheeler." The teacher answered. "As long as the weather is tame and we still have electricity, school is still open."

Suddenly, the classroom heard crackling on a glass. Everyone gasped and turned to their left. The glass window was coated with hard rimes of ice.

The kids rose up from their seats and stared through the glass window. "Look at that!"

"They look like ice thorns."

Yugi gazed at the ice rimes. "Oh..."

"Class, please return to your seats." The teacher ordered. "I assure you that the weather outside is nothing to be concern about. Everything is just fine."

But he corrected when the lights in the room flickered and turned off unexpectedly. The students looked up and exclaimed.

"Dude, did the lights just go out?" A student commented.

"The whole school's power went off." Another said.

"Must be something wrong with the transformer," Tristan guessed. "The snow must have short-circuited it or something."

"Now class. Even without electricity, class is still in session." Mr. Yoshima assured. "School is not over until 3:00."

Once again, he stood corrected when they received an announcement from the intercom. "ATTENTION STUDENTS AND TEACHERS." The principal addressed. "DUE TO BAD WEATHER, THE SCHOOL IS EXPERIENCING A POWER OUTAGE CAUSED BY THE ICE IN THE TRANSFORMER. I APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE, BUT WE WILL HAVE TO RELEASE YOU STUDENTS EARLY. EXIT IN A SINGLE FILE AND PLEASE WALK SAFELY. THAT IS ALL."

All the students cheered with gusto and threw books and papers in the air and launched from their desks. "Now students..." Mr. Yoshima started to say. But the students pushed him out of the way and bolted to the door. The other classroom ejected more loads of excited youth and stampeded through the halls. Yugi, Joey, Tèa, and Tristan walked cautiously through the throng, trying not to get trampled.

The entire student body exploded from the school doors like there was a fire and ran. Some of the teenagers decided to have snowball fights while others made snow angels in the school ground. The schoolgirls discussed plans for the winter while the rest hurried home.

"So Yug, me and Tristan are gonna head over to the arcade and chow down on some burgers," Joey said. "You wanna come?"

"Nah, I think I'm gonna pick up a few things and head home," Yugi said.

"Oh, okay." Tristan shook his head.

"What about you, Téa? You coming?"' Joey asked his female comrade.

"No can do. I have to go home to change into my outfit and go to my dance partner's house so we could practice for dance recital." Téa responded.

"Very well then," Tristan accepted. "We'll see you guys later."

"Bye guys. Be careful walking down the sidewalks," Yugi bid farewell and the four departed in their own ways.

The Snow Pharaoh's white horse landed on top of the Tokyo Tower. The Snow Pharaoh unmounted off his horse and stood on the wind velocity and direction indicator, gazing at a full view of Domino City. "Domino City, a city of games," He said to himself. "These humans have overdeveloped their standards and are fouling the atmosphere with those strange chromic gadgets." He eyed on the cars on the street. "Though some things never change." His eyes scanned at the warmly dressed civilians. The rich and busy ones complained about cold and fussed that their expensive coats aren't good enough to keep them warm. One man was puffing on his red cold hands to keep them warm.

"It seems that these mortals don't appreciate the beauty and delights of my snow manna." With a snap of his fingers, a tiny crystalized particle floated over the Snow Pharaoh's index finger. He grew it into a bigger snowflake, containing thaumaturgic energy. "They just need to get used to it more." He threw the magical snowflake high up in the air and into the gray clouds. At his will, a bigger snowfall has reoccured over Domino City. The civilians looked up and noticed the flakes hitting their faces.

A couple of leashed dogs caught a glimpse of the mysterious visitor and started barking. "Hey, what's going on with you, boys?" The owner spoke up. "Settle down!"

Yugi walked down the city sidewalks and swung by the mini mart. He grabbed a basket and collected a bag of marshmallows, carton of milk, bread, a box of hot chocolate mix, toothpaste, eggs, and four cans of orange juice. After getting what he needs, he headed for the cash register to pay.

"Good day, sunny. You find everything you look for?" The friendly elderly store owner asked.

"Uh-huh." Yugi answered.

"Kooky weather we're having, yes? You must be careful not to slip on the ice." The owner said, swiping the items and putting them in a single large paper bag. "And don't catch a cold either. That'll be 11.50."

"Thank you. Have a nice day!" Yugi paid the cashier, picked up the packed sack, and left the mini mart.

"Take care, little one!" The owner waved.

The aurora borealis streamed across the dark blue sky. The people exclaimed in awe and pointed upwards. Yugi looked up as well and saw the northern lights. "Auroras? In Domino City?" He thought out loud in awe. "Now that's weird. "I thought they only appear in the Arctic." He proceeded down the lane, hurrying to the Kame Shop.

Little was he aware, he was watched by the mystical Snow Pharaoh from the spire of the Tokyo Tower. His icy dark red eyes scoped on the skipping boy "That's right. Run home, little one. Run to your warm safe sanctuary," he said out loud. "That little runt may have escaped my ice dust, but that doesn't change that I can't get him. Since I can't get near him, I must find something to lure him to my Icy Pyramid, to me." The eye on his pendant glowed and he saw Solomon driving in his Buick.

"Perfect. The old man will do. I shall capture the old man and use him to lure my new opponent here. No doubt that the boy will seek and search for his beloved grandfather. Once he finds me in my Ice Pyramid, I'll owned that spiky-haired little one over a game of Ice Cube Monsters and have him as my trophy with the others. Everyone will learn the true power of the Snow Pharaoh." He then smirked and chortled. "But first, I'm going to have a little fun here." He whooshed his arms up high in the air. The seemingly less hazardous snowfall turned into a nasty blizzard at his will. The frosty gust whooshed over the city, taking the citizens by surprise.

More snow piled up in the streets, nearly two feet up to people's ankles. Traffic was built up for about to three to seven blocks. Drivers pulled their heads out of the windows to desperately sweep snow off their windshields when their wipers got jammed in the mounds. The half-melted streets were nearly overflowing with water from the sprinkler systems as it tried to keep up with the weather. A policeman blew his whistle loudly as he tried to keep the traffic in control under the uncontrollable snow. Yugi who was hurrying down the sidewalk with a bag of groceries, watched the scenes along the way.

"My goodness. The storm's getting nasty." He said to himself. "I'd better hurry home." He proceeded faster but carefully not slipping on the ice.

In Domino Park, the parents grabbed their children and hurried to find shelter. Snow piled on the seats, birdbaths, and parts of the playgrounds. The skaters had to quickly evacuate the frozen pond. The staff who were putting up the Snow Festival had to drop what they were doing and leave their finished work behind due to the unexpected weather.

"What's up with this freaky weather?" One of the remaining volunteers hollered over the roar.

"Let's just keep working!" Another one said.

The ice sculptures were sprinkled with snow dust, undoing half the finished parts.

"My masterpiece is getting gritty!" Complained a female sculptor.

"I think we should call it a day and go to a cafe until the storms blows over." The supervisor suggested. "We can finish it once

"I hope the Snow Festival doesn't get cancelled." A female volunteer said.

The sculptors abandoned their work and hurried back to their trailers.

The Snow Pharaoh twirled his blue cape around, conducting another snowdrift over the intersections. The policeman tweeted on his whistle which was knocked off by the severe wind. He yelled as he flew backwards and crashed into a bicyclist.

Yugi picked up the pace, jogging not too fast over the slippery sidewalks. He clutched tight onto the grocery bag as he braved against the blistering wind. He finally made it back to his home, back inside the empty Kame Game Shop, away from the snowstorm. "Phew! Made it." He said to himself. "Talk about your freak weather."

Domino City was nearly ten feet of snow. The Snow Pharaoh chuckled as he was proud of his work. "Now that's what I call a 'Snow Festival'! Reminds me of the time of the Great Blizzard in 1888. That was my best handiwork." He smirked and rubbed under his nose. "I think that should be enough for excitement for one day. And now to pick up the lure." His head turned in the direction of the countryside from Domino City. He and his horse rose up from the tower and disappeared in a wisp of snowflakes.

Inside his warm kitchen Yugi made himself some hot chocolate, adding a few marshmallows, and watched small balls of snow pelting down outside his kitchen window.

"Boy, that snow is really coming down hard." He said to himself. "I hope Grandpa is okay." He sipped his hot chocolate.

* * *

In in the snowy countryside outside of Domino City, Solomon's car drove on the hairpin roads, on the way to the business partner's house. He saw how white grounds glistened under the low sunlight. Trees were decorated with white foams.

There was also a farm where a bunch of kids played in the snow, while their grandmother swept the porch.

A couple of yards from the road, there couple of boys, one is a teenager, has short brown hair, and blue eyes and the other is younger boy with long black hair and dark violet eyes. They are currently hung out in their balcony on the second floor of their two-story exclusive cabin.

"You should check out the scenery, Seto." The small boy said. "It's beautiful."

His older brother didn't seemed to be interested. He was just sitting on his lounge chair, reading a magazine entitled Rich and Power Digest.

The Snow Pharaoh stood on top of a tall Buddhist temple, prospecting the white scenery. His blue cape fluttered in the cold air. "Such a spectacular scenery. They say it's the calm before the storm." He smirked and chortled. "But not for long." He extended out his strong arms, drawing in gray nimbostratus clouds that eclipsed the blue sky. More snowflakes drifted from the ruffles and sprinkled over the country land. The kids looked up and exclaimed in excitement. But the elders sensed a snowstorm coming.

"Let's get inside, children." The grandmother rounded up her children and herded them inside the cottage.

"Get inside, Mokuba." Seto, the elder brother grabbed his younger sibling's hand and retreated inside the cabin.

From inside of his car, Solomon noticed the snow coming down. "That's odd. Where'd the snow cone from?" He said to himself and switched on the window wipers.

"Excellant. Now a little of this." The Snow Pharaoh tapped his foot on the temple roof, texturing the temple roof with more frost. It expanded all the way down, structure to structure. Icicles hung under the tiers and hoar ice covered the Buddhist statues.

"For the finishing touch." He blew an extremely cold breath of air from his lips. It evolved into an ice wind and whooshed over the power lines, causing an electrical spark discharge in the transformer. Consequently, the cabins in the area lost power. The people inside their homes gasped and had only the light and warmth from their fireplaces. Ice and frost insulated the windows, porches and railings, and even the door knobs, trapping the occupants inside. The Kaiba brothers looked out the fractal glass, trying to see what's going on outside.

The Snow Pharaoh chuckled in fun. He leaped from the coagulated temple and rode in the snowy wind like a surfer. He spotted two headlights in the whiteout, belonging to a Buick which was driven by Solomon himself.

"There you are, old man." The Snow Pharaoh scoped. "Now I got you in my sights." He whistled from his two fingers. His horse appeared and jumped up high. It reached its owner in midair and caught the Snow Pharaoh on its back. It landed back on ground and jogged through the woods, leaving more ice behind, but suddenly the horse's hoof slipped and stumbled on a snowy slope. It skied downhill and the Snow Pharaoh who remained calm griped on the reins in attempt to steer his horse into control. He then gasped in terror when he saw that they were heading straight in a boiling hot spring! If he falls in there, he is done for! He gripped hold onto the reins and hastily braked his horse, barely stopping at the edge of the steaming water. The horse neighed wildly and skittered .

The Snow Pharaoh breathed harder and let out sigh of relief. "That was too close for comfort! No more fooling around!" He galloped his horse and sprinted towards the roads.

As kept he kept on driving, Solomon squinted through the windshield. "I can barely see where I'm going. I'm supposed to been there by now." He said to himself. "I should probably pull over, but I can't. Peter is counting on me." He gripped onto the steering wheel, beginning to feel tension. The road in front of his windshield is invisible in the blowing snow. Even with the headlights on, everything is blurry and obscure.

Closing in on him, the Snow Pharaoh's horse galloped on the opposite roads. "Catch him!" He threw his snow dust as if they were his troopers on command after their target.

The ice wind traveled over the road, homing in at Solomon's car. It first reached the exhaust system, freezing the fuel inside. Solomon received a warning sign from the MIL. "Oh no, NO! Not now!" The old man muttered in trepidation, whacking the odometer.

He flimsily shifted the gear stick in all directions. The engines couldn't respond. Everything was frozen. Solomon shifted his eyes back on the road, just in time to spotted a person with tricolor hair and blue cape appearing into invisibility in the headlights. Solomon gasped in alarm. The Snow Pharaoh standing in the middle of the road right where the Buick was driving! Solomon panicked and wrenched the steering wheel.

The wheels skidded on the icy roads. The car spun out of control and rolled off the road. Solomon screamed as his car tumbled down the slope like a toy car. The Buick eventually flipped and splashed into a freezing creek. Hanging upside down from seat, Solomon breathed heavily and fought to gain control of himself after the crash. He quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and dropped down from his seat and into the freezing seeping water. He punched through the window glass, reached out from the hole, and twisted the knob. With all his strength, he pushed the car door open and crawled out from hole.

Solomon then stood on his shaking, aching legs in the ice freezing water and trudged out from the creek. He wandered through the dark woods. He struggled to keep on his feet through the merciless blizzard. Ice particles scraped against his scratched face and gray beard. His head bandana undid off from his head and flew off through the wind.

"HELP!" Solomon hollered. "Anyone out there!" He trudged on through the blistering blizzard. "PLEASE!" He coughed violently as his old but strong body could not hold out much longer against the devastating temperature.

"SOMEBODY!"

Suddenly, he spotted an obscured shape in the drifting snow. "HEY!" He shouted to it. "HELP!" He was drew closer to the shape. "Please! I'm lost! HELP ME!" The shape transparentized in the whiteout and came into near visibility, revealing a figure of a cape-wearing stranger with star-shaped head riding on a horse.

Solomon gasped in wonder. Coming out of the whiteout is an unspeakably handsome and bronze man in white and blue royal Egyptian clothing, cobalt cape, a crown, and a golden pyramid pendant hanging from his neck. His black and red hair and golden bangs fluttered in the wind and his cold ruby arched eyes casted upon the stunned elderly man in front of him.

"You...you..." Solomon stuttered speechlessly. "You're...the..."

"Yes. I am who you think I am." The Snow Pharaoh answered automatically in a baritone voice. "I have come for you, old man."

"For me?" Solomon sputtered. "But what why?"

The Snow Pharaoh didn't answer him. He sprayed sparkling crystal particles from his hand at Solomon's face, causing him to feel drowsy and passed out. He keeled over and the pharaoh's horse caught him. It lifted him up on its long thick neck and its owner pulled up the unconscious elderly man and rested him on the withers.

"Just a little game." He said, securing the sleeping abductee.

The horse neighed and carried the Snow Pharaoh and Solomon the snowy drifts. It elevated them high from the country ground and soared up in the gray thick skies where the clouds opened and more aurora borealis streamed

The horse entered the colorful iridescences and disappeared into a different dimension. The blizzard eased up and the night sky became starry and clear again. Blue and green streams of northern lights faded and dissolved completely, sealing the portal gate between two worlds.


	4. The Snow Pharaoh's Plan

**Hey there! MissBrains101 is back!**

 **So sorry for the wait, everyone!**

 **I was so busy writing other stories and preparing my first volumne of my original graphic novel.**

 **I hope everyone had a good summer and having a good year so far.**

 **Here's a brand-new chapter of this** **rewritten story to enjoy.**

 **Again, I am so sorry for the delay.**

 **Thank you for reading, following, and reviewing! :)**

 **PEACE**

The next morning, the blizzard caused by the Snow Pharaoh did a number on Domino City. By the time it was over, the entire city was coated under six thick layers of ice and snow. Buildings and windows were superimposed with frost. Cars were grounded, the city streets were emptied, and people were stuck inside their homes.

Although the weather was bad, it was lucky that the Domino Snow Festival has not been cancel.

Inside the Kame Game Shop, Yugi sat in the living room, watching the morning news while eating a bowl of steamed rice. "Wowzie! Where did all the snow come from?" The anchorwoman asked in the report. "This is has GOT to be the biggest and probably the most freakiest storm of all of Domino City!" She described the background behind her. "Frost all over the windows of homes, cars buried under mounds of snow, all air flights have been canceled due to the weather."

"However, the snowstorm has not canceled the Domino Snow Festival, so I assure you all participants that our favorite pastime holiday will carry out as planned. The sculptures are remained unharmed and the weather should be clear today. Expectations are met when confirmed that..."

As he kept his eyes on the screen, Yugi picked up a dab of rice with his chopsticks and guided them into his mouth. "Hmm...I wonder if Grandpa has already made it to his partner's house?" He thought as he chewed. He does not have even the faintest idea that his beloved grandfather has been captured by the mystical Snow Pharaoh and taken to his Icy Pyramid.

Suddenly, his cell phone vibrated. He picked it up and answered it. "Hello?"

"Heya, Yug. Did ja see all dat snow come down?" It was Joey's voice.

"Did I? A huge massive blizzard blew over Domino City!" Yugi replied. "I thought my house was going to be snowed in, literally!"

"Yeah, my apartment window's so glazed up with ice, my dad thought he was hallucinating!"

"It's a good thing they didn't cancel the Snow Festival," Yugi said. "I was looking forward to playing in the Ice Cube Monster tournament."

"Yeah, no kidding." Joey agreed. "Dis really no fun beating second-rate amateurs at school, especially against a certain big doofus with green hair."

"Gian? Heh, heh, heh! I wouldn't say that everyone is a amateur," Yugi said modestly, getting up and putting the rice bowl in the sink. "Most of them are just as good too." He turned on the facet.

"Yeah, but none of them can hold a candle to your mastery mad skills." Joey complimented.

"Aw, you're too kind." Yugi smiled as he washed the bowl clean. "I just hope that I'm ready."

"I'm sure you'll do great as usual." There was a loud thump coming from Joey's line. "Ugh, my dad just slumped from da easy chair and passed out onto da floor." He said in displeasure. "I gotta go. See ya in da Snow Festival."

"Later, Joey." Both hung up and Yugi placed the clean bowl in the sink.

Yugi picked up the house phone to call the house of his grandfather's business partner. He heard a busy signal. "All the lines are down." He said to himself. "Must have been some power outage."

He then heard a doorbell rang. He rushed to the the front of the shop and opened the door. Téa was standing in the doorway. "Hi, Yugi."

"Hey, Téa." He allowed his friend to come inside.

"Phew!" Téa huffed her mittened hands warm. "It's totally freezing outside. I can't believe they didn't cancel the Snow Festival after all that snow."

"Well, I guess that's why they called it a Snow Festival." Yugi said pointedly. "Otherwise, it wouldn't be without any snow. You want some hot cocoa?"

"Sure, why not? Please." Téa gladly accepted.

Yugi skipped into the kitchen to make two cups of hot chocolate. He grabbed a stool from under the sink to reach for the mugs in the second shelf of the cupboard. He was about to grab the ears from one of the mugs when he felt a cold breeze meeting him behind.

 _"Yugi..."_

"Huh?" Yugi turned around and saw nothing there. The window was closed, so there couldn't have been a wind. Was he feeling things or is there someone trying to contact him?

"Did you say something, Téa?" Yugi called out from the kitchen.

"No, I didn't say anything," his female friend answered back.

"Hmm..." Yugi cocked his eyebrows and shrugged.

As he got to work on the chocolate, snowflakes piled up in the corners of his window. The magic inside them shone visibly as if by a sign.

A sign that a phenomenal event is drawing near...

* * *

"When's your grandfather gonna be here, Yugi?" Tristan asked later that afternoon at the Domino Snow Festival. "I thought he was going to be on time for the snow festival. He always enjoy the snow festival."

"I'm sure he is just talking to his business partner," Yugi said. "He's probably on his way right now as we speak."

"He better be, it's almost your turn." Tristan frowned in concern.

The Ice Cube Monsters Tournament was in session and Yugi was now in the semi-finals.

Nearby, Joey and Téa were looking at the giant sculpture. Each ice stature were carved into various Duel Monsters. There was Dark Magician, Berformet, the three Magnet Warriors, Dark Witch, and other monsters from the card game. "Check it out," Joey pointed to a medium large sculpture shaped like a young dragon. "There's Baby Dragon!" He pointed at another dragon sculpture that appeared longer and scarier than the Baby Dragon. "And there's Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

"Hey, there's one called Dark Witch and Gemini Elf!" Téa pointed to three female elf sculptures.

Joey chuckled as he gulped down a bag of doriyaki hot cakes.

"Hey, Yug, you're up." Tristan tapped his friend's shoulder in alert.

Yugi looked around for his grandfather before getting on to the table to challenge the next opponent.

As the two competitors faced each other in opposite seats with the ice cube board game all set, the judge allowed them to begin. "Round 8: Yugi vs. Theo! Ready, set, play!"

Joey and Téa arrived at the benches, just in time to see their best friend go at another competitor.

"Alright, looks like Yugi's still in da tournament and totally in da lead, as usual," Jory said, now gnawing a piece of fried chicken.

As he played on the game, Yugi kept looking at the audience, looking for his grandfather.

"Something's up with Yugi." Téa observed. "Yugi seems kind of distracted and less spirited."

"That's because Yugi's grandpa isn't here yet." Tristan informed them.

"That's weird. That's not like Mr. Mutou ta miss out on his grandson's tournament," Joey said, chewing on the bits of chicken in his teeth.

"I'm sure he's driving on his way here right now as we speak," Téa said.

Yugi was so distracted with his grandpa's absence, he nearly missed his chance to pulverize his opponent in the last phase. After a few rounds, Yugi defeated each and every opponent, eventually winning the Domino Ice Cube Monster Tournament. Nearby, a couple of police officers entered the tournament area, as if they were looking for someone. They eyed on a certain spiky-haired teen upon the stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, our winner and still champion of Ice Cube Monsters is Yugi Muto!" The judge announced proudly, presenting the trophy to the sullen young winner of the competition. "Please, give him a round applause!"

The crowd cheered and clapped. Téa, Joey, and Tristan also applauded for their friend, frowning at the fact that Mr. Mutou had not arrived to see his grandson win. Yugi held the trophy in his hands, though he didn't feel like celebrating. His grandpa was not here to cheer him on. He'd never missed any of his games, even on the busiest and hardest days his grandfather had at his game shop. What could have happened to him?

That when he got his answer when the policewoman walked up on stage and approached the short spiky-haired teen.

"Excuse me, is your name Yugi Muto?" A policewoman asked.

"Who wants to know?" The small boy asked.

The policewoman's face turned serious. "It's about your grandfather. There's been a car accident."

Yugi gasped speechlessly and morphed into great worry. "What?" The trophy slipped from his hands and crashed to the floor, but he did not care. The friends looked up the stage in concern.

"Yugi? Are you okay? What happened?" Téa asked.

"What's wrong, Yugi?" Tristan asked.

"Everything okay, pal?" Joey asked.

"What happened to my grandpa? Where is he?" Yugi frantically asked and griped the policewoman's arms. "Is he okay? Tell me!"

"We're not exactly sure. We're still investigating the scene." The policewoman answered.

"Take me to him!" Yugi insisted pleadingly. "I need to see my grandpa!"

Joey, Tristan, and Téa looked at each other in bewilderment, worried about their friend.

* * *

Not ten minutes later, the gang were gathered in the police car, on their way to the car accident scene in the countryside. Yugi sat in the front seat with a perturbed and silent expression on his face. Joey, Téa, and Tristan sat in the back, looking at each other, they too are anxious and scared their friend's grandfather. The police car finally arrived at a vehicular accident reconstruction, next to the bridge where Solomon's car ran over and laid in the creek water.

"Grandpa!" Yugi exited out of the police car and made a rush to the road.

"Son, get back!" A policeman chief held him back.

"Where's my Grandpa?" Yugi demanded as he tried to see through the crime scene.

Téa, Tristan, and Joey exited the back seat of the police car as well and joined their friend and tried to see through the police. "All you kids, stay back."

They peered at the area, where they noticed fresh black skid marks on the road.

"Where's Mr. Mutou's car?" Téa asked.

"What happened?" Tristan asked

"Mr. Mutou's skidded among the curves and somehow rolled off the road," a policeman explained. "We're still investigating the scene."

The kids looked downhill and saw Mr. Mutou's car lying in.

"There's the car!" Tristan pointed there.

"Grandpa!" Yugi cried out and broke through the policeman's hold and ran down hill.

"Wait! Come back!" A policeman hollered. Joey, Téa, and Tristan slid after their friend.

"Where's my grandpa?" Yugi frantically asked as he tried to look inside the upside down Buick in the creek. "GRANDPA!"

"Son, this is a traffic collision recronstruction scene," the policeman said. "You need to step away. It's dangerous."

"I want to see my _grandpa_!" Yugi insisted in a shout. "Let me see my grandpa!"

"Yugi, calm down!" Téa hollered.

A short-haired woman in a long brown jacket and long black pants walked toward the scared boy. "My name is Detective Shifu," she presented her official badge to him. "I'm assigned to investigate the car accident that involved your grandfather, Solomon Mutou."

"Do you know where my grandpa is?" Yugi inquired the newly assigned detective. "Is he hurt? Is he alive?!" He grilled with panic in his eyes.

Detective Shifu sighed sadly. "We couldn't find Mr. Mutou's body. We couldn't find any traces of him or his whereabouts after the car accident."

"No, he wouldn't just disappear like that!" Yugi shook his head in denial.

Another investigator came to him, presenting a familiar black "It was all we could find." He informed.

Yugi took his grandfather's bandanna from the investigator's hand and squeezed it preciously in his hands. He refused to believe that his grandfather is gone. "Grandpa..." He murmured.

"Poor Yugi." Téa softly said, eyes glistening, feeling her pain for her friend.

Joey and Tristan shared their grief for the disappearance of Yugi's beloved grandfather, for Solomon Muto was like a grandfather to them too. What could have happened to Yugi's grandfather? And where in the world he have gone?

* * *

Meanwhile, the aurora borealis streaming across the dimensional skies dropped off the Snow Pharaoh's white horse which trotted through the transcendent stars, carefully descending upon the white snowy lands. The Snow Pharaoh secured his sleeping prisoner on the saddle until they were at the Icy Pyramid where his loyal monsters were waiting for him outside.

When they saw him arrived, they gathered and swarmed all around him, greeting him of his return.

"Welcome back, Your Majesty!" Dark Magician Girl chimed.

"That was quick," Celtic Guardian said. "We were expecting that you'd be gone for a while."

"How was the trip? Did you find anything new?" Big Shield Gardna asked.

"Did you bring me anything from the other dimension?" Winged Dragon Guardian asked.

The monsters thronged around the Snow Pharaoh's horse as its master prepared to unsaddle from his ride.

Dark Magician swooped in front of his master to control the mobbing. "Back away! Give His Highness some space!" He swooshed his staff and pushed the monsters back with his magic aura.

The Snow Pharaoh dropped off from his horse, carrying the sleeping old man in his strong arms. The monsters swarmed and eyed at the human elderly in curiosity.

"It looks like he bought something alright," the Magician of Black Chaos said. He looked closer. "Actually, he bought a someone."

"Who is he?" Dark Magician Girl asked.

Solomon stirred up slightly in the Snow Pharaoh's arms and mumbled incoherently.

"Is this one your new challenger?" Winged Guardian asked.

"He looks kind of old, doesn't he?" Big Shield Gardna said.

"Quite the contrary, he will have a special role for my real opponent." The Snow Pharaoh replied with a sly tone.

The monsters cocked their heads with confusion. Their ice king walked toward back into the Icy Pyramid with his monsters followed him from behind. The Snow Pharaoh, cradling his new prisoner in his arms, walked leisurely up on the crystal stairs. He eyed at the sleeping Solomon with a dexterous smirk. "Yes, my sleeping old geezer. You will do just nicely...for my trap for my new opponent!" He chuckled deviously.

* * *

Back on Earth, Yugi sat in his school desk, looking all mighty depressed. Today was only half of day at school due to the snow outside. But Yugi did not care about that.

"Come on, Yug, cheer up!" Joey consoled him, rubbing the back of his friend's shoulder from behind. "It'll be alright. I'm sure yer grandpa will turn up sooner or later. The police will find him, I promise."

Yugi just sank his face beneath his arms in silence. Joey groaned.

"Poor Yugi," Téa whispered.

"I know he misses his grandpa, but he needs to pull himself together." Tristan said to her.

"Aw! Poor little Yugi!" A gruff mocking voice occurred.

Just then, the same snickering noises from before interposed.

"Huh?" Joey, Téa, and Tristan looked that direction.

The three bullies, Gian, Choji, and Tomoko approached Yugi's desk, wearing interested smugs. "Hey, Motou, you look like someone just died." The green-haired boy spoke up.

"Why the tall face?" Tomoko asked stupidly.

Choji poked the big large boy in the gut. "It's why the LONG face, doofus!"

Yugi didn't respond.

"Well, answer us, Mutou!" Gian demanded.

"Leave me alone, Gian." Yugi replied gloomily and turned around.

"What's the matter? Did you lose your favorite Ice Cube Monster?" Gian guessed.

"My grandpa is gone, okay?" Yugi replied with slight irritation in his tone.

"He died?" Choji asked, eyes widened.

"I don't know! He was kidnapped or something! I don't know, okay?" Yugi snapped disdainfully, eyes glistening.

"Oh..." The bullies looked at each other and smirked.

"Gosh, we're sorry. We didn't know how much you cared about your grandpappy!" Choji remarked.

Joey, Tristan, and Téa glared, not liking the bullies' behavior.

"Correction: His Grandpa ain't not missing, he's just hiding..." Choji razzed. "Hiding from you that is! Ha ha ha!"

Yugi gasped in turmoil at those words.

"Truth is he doesn't wanna be with his own grandson, that's why he's been missing for a year!" Gian sneered.

"Duh, yeah. He doesn't like his grandson 'cause..." Tomoko paused and thought emptily. "...cause he's a, stupid grandson! Yeah, ha ha ha!"

The bullying trio laughed heartlessly. The students in the classroom expressed disgust by their choice of verbal abuse. Yugi whimpered and held his head down, trying to shield his watery eyes. Téa ran to him and held on to him, trying to comfort him. She gave the bullies a cold glare in the process.

"Hey, you punkasses! SHADDUP!" Joey yelled at the bullies. "How dare ya poke fun of Yugi's tragedy?!"

"Oohhh! I'm sorry! I didn't realize it was bothering him!" Gian said sarcastically.

"You heard him! Leave our friend alone..." Tristan stepped in. "...Or else!" He presented his fist.

"Or else what?" Tomoko retorted.

"Why do you jerks have to be so insensitive?" Téa asked.

"Ooohhh, whatcha you gonna do about it?" Gian returned. "You're gonna tell Grandpa I'm picking on Yugi? Well, you can't! You see, Grandpa is gone! Ha ha ha!"

Joey and Tristan growled in great dislike.

"Look at that, the two psycho twins are standing up for their little friend. How inspiring!" Choji added.

"Hey, I got a suggestion for you; Why don't you three sew up your pink fat bubble lips together and keep quiet for like ever!" Tristan put in venomously. "Better yet, why don't you three go dig your own graves and then...drop dead!"

Gian scowled and put up his fists. "You wanna take this outside, Taylor?" He challenged.

"I'll knock your balls out in round one!" Tristan clamped his fists.

"We want a piece of you, too!" Tomoko joined in a soon-to-be classroom brawl.

"I'll take four pieces ta go!" Joey jumped in and grabbed Choji by the collar of his jacket.

"Put me down, you blond-haired buffoon!"

The two best friends and the bigger bullies were about to face off when they were canceled by their homeroom teacher.

"That will be quite enough of this rhubarb, gentlemen."

The boys ceased fighting at once and saw their homeroom teacher standing between them. "Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Taylor, unless you want to spend a day in detention..."

"Gian, Choji, and Tomoko were the ones who started it!" Téa pointed out.

"I am aware of that, Miss Gardener," the teacher replied. He then turned to the three hooligans. "You three; go stand in the hallway." He instructed sternly.

As the bully trio walked out of the classroom, Gian gave Joey and Tristan nasty hateful glares and the duo returned by giving them the finger and Akanbe.

"There will be no violence in my classroom. The next person who talks will be staying after school to wash the classroom floors." The teacher added to that firmly.

The classroom fell silent. "What bunch of A-holes!" Téa mouthed to her friends.

"Mmm-hmm!" Joey and Tristan nonverbally agreed.

Yugi didn't speak a word for the rest of the morning. After the early school bell rang and let everyone out, the small tricolored haired gamer walked forlornly down the city sidewalk with his head sagging below his shoulders. People walked by him and nonchalantly bumped without saying "excuse me", but Yugi did not care. He is all alone in this world. There is no one else to take care of him now.

Téa, Joey, and Tristan observed in deep concern. "Poor Yugi. He's in serious bad shape." The short-haired brunette said.

"I know he misses his grandpa, (I know I do too), but he needs to pull himself together," Tristan said.

"We just gotta cheer him up!" Joey suggested. "Hey, Yug!" He ran after his short best pal. "Yugi, wait up!"

Yugi arrived at the door of his shop, not answering his best friend.

"Hey, Yug! I hear dar dere is new video game that came out today," Joey started. "Whaddaya say we head to the arcade and give it a spin? I'll bet ya'll hit top score like ya did with the other games."

Yugi didn't say anything. He kept on a sullen face and leaned on the shop door.

"Hey, let's go out for pizza!" Tristan took a try. "After that, we can watch Téa's dance audition for The Nutcracker. If we're lucky, Téa can get us front row seats."

Yugi again did not said one word. His blond bangs shaded his sullen eyes.

Téa bit her lip and placed her hands on her best friend's shoulders. "Yugi, please, I understand that you're sad about your grandpa, and believe me, we're all sad that he's gone." She said with forming tears in her eyes. "We all miss him terribly, Yugi. Mr. Mutou is like a grandpa to us too! But the only thing worse than having our beloved grandpa missing is seeing you so sad and depressed all the time!" She paused to sniffle and put on a light smile. "But if we keep our chins up together, things will look up and we'll all feel better."

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I really need to be alone," the short spiky-haired teen responded gloomily.

Téa, Joey, and Tristan sighed heavily in dismay, all out of ideas.

Just then, Detective Shifu approached the gang with some updates.

"Any news of my grandpa?" Yugi asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry, Yugi, but there's still no sign of your grandfather." Detective Shifu shook her head. "I'm afraid we couldn't find any more clues of your grandfather's disappearance. I'm afraid will have to call it off."

Yugi sullened in despair.

"Wait a minute, how can you be givin' up just like dat?" Joey asked in exasperation. "You can't just let Yugi live all by himself! He needs his grandpa!"

"I'm sorry, young man, but we've done all we could." Detective Shifu answered calmly. "But without any evidence or witnesses, chances are we may never be able to solve the disappearance of Solomon Muto. In conclusion, I'm afraid that we'll have to presume the missing victim dead."

"Maybe you're not trying hard enough?" Tristan faced the missing person detective with a forceful look on his face. "Come on, you're an investigator, aren't you for crying out loud? Investigate something!"

"Excuse me, Detective?" Téa addressed the detective. "But what is going to happen to Yugi? What will happen to his home?"

Detective Shifa sighed solemnly. "Well, Miss Gardener, if the store owner isn't found, then we'll have to close down the Kame Game Shop."

"But that's Yugi's home!" Tristan protested. "Where is he going to live?"

"Well, since there's no other kin who could take care of him and Yugi is still a minor, he will have to be resided in a homeless shelter."

"A homeless shelter?" The teens repeated in unison.

Yugi expressed in trepidation at the thought of living in small, cramped quarters with a couple of smelly homeless old men, ragged strangers, and pickpockets who may be armed with knives to "demand" him the last of his money or possessions.

"Oh no!" Téa cupped her mouth. "Not that!"

"But Yugi can't be with the homeless!" Joey said. "They'll eat him up alive!"

"I heard that the shelter food is crappy," Tristan said. "There are no showers and toilets are always dirty! I mean, have you ever seen the inside of a homeless shelter? Total disease town there!" He shuddered his head in disgust at the description. "Plus, cockroaches fill up the building more than people! Yugi won't be able to last in a place like that!"

"Unless there is someone else who will take him in, Yugi doesn't have anywhere else to go but the homeless shelter," Detective Shifu shook her head, writing down her mini notebook.

Yugi sank down to the sidewalk in dejection, sitting on the concrete with his arms across his arched knees. Joey, Téa, and Tristan had to think fast or else they will lose their best friend. "Well...what if...what if one of us will take him in?" Téa proposed. "You said Yugi just has to be under adult supervision, right? Our parents can hold custody of him. It's just until his grandfather has been turned up."

"Yeah, Yugi won't have to live with the homeless because he'll be living under our roof," Tristan said. "That is if it's okay with you, ma'am? And Yugi?"

Yugi looked up in hope and nodded.

"Please say yes." Joey begged.

Detective Shifu scratched her head with her pencil. "Well, if your folks approve of it and sign the papers, then your parents can be Yugi's legal guardian by law." She approved.

"Really? That's great." Téa said.

"So Yugi doesn't get to go the homeless shelter," Tristan beamed, pleased. "Awesome!"

Yugi smiled with hope and relief. "Thank you."

"Great! In dat case, I'll take him unda' my wing!" Joey ecstatically proposed and snagged his short friend's head under his arm. "Yug can live with me! We'll be like brothers, only we happened ta live in the same house, and we're not related."

Yugi chuckled comfortably. "Thanks, Joey."

"No, Yugi can stay with me!" Tristan offered, pulling his small friend away from Joey. "We got a free room available and we won't charge you rent!" He smiled.

"Uh, thanks Tristan." Yugi gratified.

"Back off, Tristan! I volunteered first." Joey yanked his best friend back. "It'll be fun, Yug! It'll be just like a sleepover with justa two of us. We can stay up late, eat junk food, read seinen manga, and fight zombies together on my Videogamer 3ooo!"

"Forget the zombies, dude!" Tristan pulled Yugi back. "You need a study buddy! You and I can cram together and help each other with our homework! My mom bakes fresh cookies every night and my dad always brings pizza on Fridays. We can even have a movie night and watch my entire anime movie collection!"

"Uh...sounds great!" Yugi chirped.

"Hey, man! How are ya tryin' play a guy?" Joey argued.

"I'm trying to be generous!" Tristan retorted.

"I'm his very best friend!" The blond argued.

"And mine too!"

"Ha! Yug doesn't even pay attention to you! You're just second place! Right Yug?" Joey eyed on his best friend.

"Uh..." Yugi gazed.

The boys bickered and quarreled over who should watch whom while Téa sighed and shook her head. "I want some female friends."

Yugi stepped in and broke up the fight. "Hey come on, guys. You don't have to fight over me. I really appreciate what you're doing."

"He's right. You two can chill out..." Téa stepped in between and announce her decision. "Because Yugi will stay with me."

"I will?" Yugi looked at her friend in inquiry.

"He will?" Tristan, and Joey said in unison.

"I've known him since we were kids, and my parents are good friends with my grandfather. I think Yugi will be safe with my family, and I'm pretty sure my parents wouldn't mind taking care for the both us." Tèa said.

"Thank you, Téa." Yugi smiled.

That took care of Yugi having a place to stay, but that still left out the case of the disappearance of his grandfather.

* * *

Back in the Icy Pyramid, Solomon, who was still momently unconscious laid facedown on the throne room floor put down by the Snow Pharaoh who was already seated on his throne. The monsters circled around him, studying the abducted visitor.

"You know, he looks kind of familiar," Dark Magician Girl commented to Dark Magician. "I mean, is it me or does he remind us of someone we know?"

"He does have some resemblance to a certain vizier we used to know," the dark robed magician agreed.

Another monster spirit reddish brown lion-like beast called Berformet came into the throne floor and sniffed at Solomon's face. "So this is what the fuss is about." He said in a deep voice. He smelled the sleeping old man again. "Strange, he even smells like the vizier we used to know."

"It's because he is," The Snow Pharaoh said.

"Hmm?" The monsters looked up in reply.

Solomon stirred up from his slumber and slowly regained consciousness. The monsters spotted him getting up and circled around him. "Hey look, he's waking up!" Dark Magician Girl said.

Solomon groggily lifted his sore head up and slowly pried his eyes. "Ohh..my head."

"Wakey, wakey!" Winged Dragon of Fortress chirped.

"Where am I?" Solomon mumbled and viewed his new surroundings.

He sat up and rubbed his bare gray head. His body shivered at the incredibly low temperature and wrapped his arms around himself, shivering. "Brr...it feels like a icebox in here!"

"Welcome to the Snow Pharaoh's Icy Pyramid." Dark Magician Girl beamed.

Solomon gasped and stared at the floating magical girl. "Dark Magician Girl?"

"Boh!" Kuriboh jumped into the pictures.

Solomon stared at the other creatures. "What's the matter? Never seen an ogre with a shield before?" Big Shield Gardna said.

Solomon yelped loudly and scrambled backwards from the pack of monsters. "Aah! Who are you!" He yelled. "You can't be real!"

"They are real." A deep voice said behind him.

Solomon turned around and choked out in speechless wonder. His eyes were so wide, his lids looked liked they would be torn away.

"You!" Solomon gaped in admiration. "It's you!"

Right in front of him is the majestic, the mystical, the one and only Snow Pharaoh! He was everything Solomon had always described in his stories. His skin was as beautifully auburn as the soil next to the Nile River. His red, black, and blond hair was spiked up in different directions like star tips, added with extra blond streaks shaped like lightning. His red eyes shone like a cold cut rubies. His bronze cold hand held on to his pyramid pendant.

"I can't believe it!" The old man jibbed. "

"Do not talk to the pharaoh this way!" Dark Magician snapped. "Show some respect."

"It's alright, Dark Magician." The Snow Pharaoh assured.

"Why did you bring me here?" Solomon asked. "What do you want from me?"

The Snow Pharaoh looked surprised. "Shimon, don't you recognize me?" You were one my vizier."

Solomon expressed in bewilderment. "What are you talking about?"

"Do not deny me, old friend." The Snow Pharaoh said. "Your face may have changed but the features cannot hide the identity of the man you once were."

"You must be mistaken! I'm actually a game shop keeper from Earth!" Solomon contradicted. "Brr! It's so cold here! Let me warm myself up." He dug his pocket and took out a box of matches.

"What are you doing?" The Snow Pharaoh asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

Solomon lit up a match, no sooner that a flick of flame appeared on the stick. The monsters gasped in horror.

"NO FIRE!" The enraged snow king roared. He bellowed so loud, the whole pyramid started shaking. The monster spirits ran for cover.

"Fire is out of the question!" He bellowed. "FIRE IS FORBIDDEN IN MY DOMAIN!"

Solomon screamed and the fire immediately went out.

"You try as much to lit another match and I will imprison you in a block of ice until your hearts stops beating." He glared with such

Solomon quivered even more violently from the frost king's wrath. "Please...I'm sorry..." He whimpered. Terrified tears seeped from his eyes.

The Snow Pharaoh kept on glaring. Slowly, his anger died down and left him. His glorious handsome face restored to normal. He brushed his tricolored hair and breathed out heavily. "Ahem. Sorry. Lost my temper for a bit. I let my powers get out of hand." He rose his hand and reduced the stalactites with his powers and shattered into several dissolving pieces. "But fear not, old man. I will not hurt you. I do not use my powers to harm an innocent soul." The Snow Pharaoh assured him softly in a sincere tone. "I know that the gods granted me this gift for a reason. Of course, I do sometimes feel that having these powers are a curse to me. I can't seem to let things go."

Solomon stared at the bronze-skinned iceman, both with uneasiness and pity. He kept on shivering from the temperature and rubbed his hands together, trying to keep warm. "Please, Your Majesty. You must let me go. I have someone I love who is waiting for me back home! You must let me go to him, please."

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I cannot do that." The frost king replied stonily. "That someone who is waiting for you at home is the reason why you are here. He's the champion of the Ice Cube Monsters tournament, is he not? I bought you here so I can lure your grandson to me. It is him I want, not you."

Solomon's gray eyes widened in horror. "No, not my grandson! You can keep me here for hundreds of years, but please leave my grandson be!" Solomon pleaded. "Besides, it's so cold here, I'll die in here!" He whimpered and rapidly rubbed his hands together.

"Relax, I won't let you freeze to death, I'll make sure of that." The Snow Pharaoh complied. "After all, I'm not that cold-blooded." He bought out a tiny snowflake on his finger and aimed at the quivering elderly man. It flew out from the fingernail and

"Oh!" Solomon stopped shivering and felt as if his body temperature had suddenly rose up, only to be drop to the same degree level as the freezing air of the heatless Ice Pyramid. "My skin is so cold, yet I feel like a happy penguin in the Arctic."

"There. Now your body temperature is adjusted to the freezing temperature here, just like I am." The Snow Pharaoh announced. "When you spend more time in the snow, your body would accommodate to the weather, your blood would freeeze like the ice, and your heart would become like a crystal shard. Your feelings would be noid, and you would forget everything you had in your former life, never to love things again...just like me." He added with somberness filling up red eyes which glistened like hard ruby gemstones.

Solomon stood up and leveled his eyes as the Snow Pharaoh's. "Oh, sire. Please, leave my grandson be. He's just a child. He has done nothing to you!"

"Calm your griping, Shiman. I only want to play with him in a game of Ice Cube Monsters. I got bored just sitting here and I hadn't had a good challenge on a long while."

Solomon stared at the Snow Pharaoh with caution.

"I know all. I see everything from my eye portal." The snow king created another dimensional window in the shape of a Wdjat eye. "As you see, I don't just watch the world from here, I control the weather. I can make blizzards from here, rather than in person." He produced a small snowball in his hand out of magic and tossed it at Solomon which smacked him in the face and he promptly wiped it off.

"That's really cold." He commented.

"Well, of course it's cold." The Snow Pharaoh replied. "What can you expect from the Snow Pharaoh? Occasionally, I like to play tricks on random mortals I pick through my eye window."

Solomon raised his eyebrow in question.

"For example..." The Snow Pharaoh continued and pointed to the window "hole" which displayed three teenage boys bathing in a onsen. It was the three bullies from school and taking a steamy bath near the snowy mountains. "Ahhhh...this is life, eh boys?" Gian commented as he leaned on the edge of the hot spring, his head resting on top of his curled arms.

"Sure is." Choji agreed. "Glad we ditched detention so we can get away and take dip in one of Japan's finest hot springs."

"Oh yeah. This place is bombing!" Tomoko added. He sat up in the tub, spread his legs apart. He sighed in content as he was relieving something beneath the water...and from under his towel. "Oh yeah, that's feels good." He smiled goofily.

Gian and Choji stared, realizing what their friend was doing. "Dude, a...are you peeing in the water right now?" The green-haired boy asked with aversion.

Tomoko chuckled haughtily. "Maybe..."

"That's disgusting!" Choji exclaimed and jumped out of the water.

"What? It's mineralized." Tokomo protested. "Plus, it's heated and it's mineralized. So what's the difference?"

As the boys quarreled and splashed in the water, the Snow Pharaoh, smirking and keeping his eye on the eye glyph twirled his two fingers, producing a gray fluffy cloud from his eye window. It foamed over the hot spring and expelled sprinkles of white dots of flakes. The boys looked up, shivering rapidly under the icy flurries and wrapped their arms around their hot and cold bodies.

"G-g-geez! H-h-how t-t-the h-h-hell d-d-did it g-get s-s-so c-c-cold all of a s-s-sudden?!" Gian chattered through his gritted teeth.

"W-w-where did the s-s-snow come from?" Choji asked.

"S-s-somebody must have o-o-o-opened up a w-w-window!" Tomoko added through his teeth.

"L-l-let's get under!" Gian suggested. "The hot s-s-spring will p-p-protect us from...the c-c-cold air!"

"Yeah!" The other boys agreed and the bully trio sank deeper in the hot spring to elude the snow air.

"Think that's too cold? Try this one for size." The Snow Pharaoh chortled deeply and snapped his fingers and the temperature in the room dropped even lower and air turned terribly freezing cold. The boys moaned from the extreme chilliness over their heads and the rising steaming heat from the hot spring which boiled their red bodies like lobster.

"This ain't gettin' any better!" Tomoko blubbered. "I feel like a lobster in a boiling pot!"

"It's getting so hot in here!" Choji whined, tears seeping from his eyes. "I can't take it!"

"Shut up, Choji!" Gian snapped. "We ain't gonna let one stinkin' blizzard run our bath! We can take the heat like strong men!"

The mini blizzard in the onsen intensified. Soon, the temperature in spring pool was no match for the Snow Pharaoh's powerful mana and lost its heat. The trio screamed in shock as the hot spring they were bathing in has turned into ice soup. Their lower naked bodies were trapped under the nearly frozen water with their red heads and torsos toppled with snow flakes. "I...c-c-c-can't f-f-feel my b-bu-body!" Gian clurted through his gritted teeth.

"I think m-m-my n-n...nuts are f-f-frozen!" Tokomo whimpered in a tiny voice.

"Somebody get me out of here!" Choji sobbed and flapped his arms up and down. "MOMMY!" The three bullies shouted and cried in distress under the ice.

The Snow Pharaoh laughed roguishly as he simply enjoyed watching his poor victims writhed in his prank. "You can't say that you can't have a hot body and cold shoulders! Heh heh heh!" He wiped his nose with his finger.

Dark Magician stared at the eye, looking both slightly amazed and displeased at his master's extreme mischief.

Solomon scowled and placed his hands on his hips, glaring at the snow king as if he was a naughty child.

"What? You don't find this amusing?" The Snow Pharaoh asked, still smirking.

"No, I do not. Don't you know it's not nice to terrorize people with your snow magic?" Solomon said scoldingly.

"Oh, come on now, it's just a little fun. You should lighten up." The Snow Pharaoh remarked, examining his nails.

"I see you're still just as arrogant ever. You haven't changed a bit at all, Your Majesty." Solomon said sternly, placing his hands on his hips.

The Snow Pharaoh's smirk kept on and closed up the eye portal. "Arrogant? Who says I'm arrogant?" He remarked. "I just happened to be full of myself."

"Hmm-hmmm." Solomon nodded in agreement. "Got that part right."

"How would you know? You said and I quote 'you do not know me'. You are Shiman, are you not?"

"No, I am Solomon Mutou, the owner of Kame Game Shop. I just know the story about you," Solomon answered sheepishly.

The Snow Pharaoh glanced at him dubitably. "Come with me. There's more I want to show you."

He patted his hand on Solomon's shoulder and the two of them walked out of the throne room.

"Have you been living here after all these years?" Solomon asked curiously.

"I leave alone with just my monsters." The Snow Pharaoh answered. "After I fled from Egypt, I resided here in this tundra wasteland. There were no people where they couldn't get to me or where can't get hurt by me. I decided to build my pyramid here and become king of the Winter Outlands. I'd never knew what I was capable of," he rubbed his nose. "I can be who I am without hurting no one."

"Hmm..." Solomon yelped as his foot lost balance and he tumbled on the icy stairs.

"I'd be careful walking if I were you," the pharaoh said. "The floors are quite slippery." He proceeded downstairs.

Solomon wobbly stood on his legs and slowly and carefully followed the Snow Pharaoh down over the amorphous steps.

They came to a large room where it was equipped with a huge ice rink cut into a grid, a mountain in the middle, and aside in opposing sides, there were slots of medium blue dice with symbols and icons imprinted.

"This is my dueling arena," the Snow Pharaoh detailed. "This is where I play my Ice Cube Monsters. That is where my game takes place."

Solomon stared at it with amazement. "Ooh! It's so huge! It's bigger than the ordinary board game back home! So magical!"

"Yes. Every year, brave and foolish warriors would come and travel to my pyramid and challenge me to a round of Ice Cube Monsters. Of course, every opponent who dueled against me lost and well, I always win."

"I see." Solomon said.

"Come. Let me show you my collection..."

Next, they were located in a deeper chamber where it was filled with human-shaped ice sculptures.

"This is what I call my trophy room..." The Snow Pharaoh toured.

To Solomon's dismay, the sculptures had agonized faces, their expressions that literally froze when they lost the game.

"Yes. These the poor souls who lost to me and...let's just say that they had to stay that way for me in a very long time.

Solomon choked out in terror.

"I turn one or two of these ice statues into pawns of my own game. For example;" he pointed to an ice statue that was shaped like a young man wearing a Roman armor, helmet, cape and sandals.

"This one was Alexander the Great. He was once a great warrior, but lost to me in a duel. I transferred his soul and transformed him into Seven-Armed Fiend."

At his will, the statue of Alexander the Great morphed into a new spirit monster, shaped like a purple demon with seven limbs and wings.

"Pretty impressive, wouldn't you agree?"

Solomon just twittered and gulped.

"Your grandson would make a nice pawn for my collection." The Snow Pharaoh chuckled in thought. "I think I might turn him into White Mage."

"Oh no! This isn't right!" Solomon looked up to the snow king pleadingly. "You were once a kind and merciful king! You used to love helping people and bring joy to your people."

The Snow Pharaoh shook his head solemnly. "That's all in the past. The Snow Pharaoh is long done from helping others. Look what has done to me."

"You can't just take away your unhappiness from my grandson just because yours got stolen! I'm begging you, spare him!"

The Snow Pharaoh remained unmoved and his expression was still. "My heart is as frozen as the ice mans in my blood. Your piteous begging will not change me."

"Atem-!" Solomon blurted out. Though that was a mistake he had just made.

The Snow Pharaoh glared viciously as if the old man had called him an ugly and disrespectful name. "SILENCE!" He roared so loud, the icicles on the ceiling shook. "Don't you ever EVER call me that name!" His emotions ran as his ice mana exploded from within his control. Solomon screamed and was nearly impaled by the ice stalactite.

"GREAT SHADOW MAGUS!" The Snow Pharaoh bellowed. A twister of snowflakes whooshed mildly around him.

At once, a gray mist of black energy appeared in the chambers and formed came his servant.

"You called for me, Master? Did this old geezer upset you, Your Majesty?" Great Shadow Magus asked with such dignity.

"Get him out of my sight!" The Snow Pharaoh ordered growlingly. "PUT HIM IN HIS CELL!"

Dark Shadow Magus's red eyes gleamed and rematerialized behind the frightened senior shop keeper. "As you wish, Your Highness." He disappeared in a wisp of smoke, taking Solomon with him.

The Snow Pharaoh's emotions expanded and it spread throughout the chambers, coating the frozen people statues with more ice, and upon the walls of each other rooms.

Great Shadow Magus threw Solomon in his new cell and slammed the door shut.

Solomon groaned in perturbation and held his chest tightly, feeling like it had just stopped. "Oh my heart! What have I said?"

Great Shadow Magus peered his malevolent eyes through the cell bars. "You best hold your tongue and think twice what you say next time, old man." He warned in raspy creepy voice which gave the old game shopkeeper the creeps. "The master is very sensitive. I'd be more careful if I were you. You would not want to make the Snow Pharaoh upset." The masked ghoul monster's red eyes lowered in seriousness.

Solomon breathed heavily and shuddered more violently, not just from the cold, but from the Snow Pharaoh's hostility. The other monsters, sensing the pharaoh's wrath retracted to their statues. Dark Magician Girl gasped when she noticed the frost covering the walls. She feared that her master may yet release another snow disaster just like he did in old Egypt.

The Snow Pharaoh stomped up the crystal stairs, leaving more icy thorns behind on the rails. He stormed back into his throne room and clomped across the floor, unsurprisingly bring in more crystal spikes. Dark Magician saw his master in turmoil. "Your Majesty, are you alright?" He asked.

The Snow Pharaoh didn't answer him. He pushed his favorite monster out of the way and plumped back on his throne.

"Your Majesty?" Dark Magician tried again.

"It's fine!" The Snow Pharaoh shot back with aggravation and placed his hands on his head. "Leave me!"

"But-"

"LEAVE NOW!" The Egyptian King shouted.

There was more crackling in the room. Dark Magician knew that his master must be alone to calm down and teleported out of the room.

The Snow Pharaoh rocked back and forth. "Must get my powers under control...get my powers together...I promised Mother and Father..."

Meanwhile in another room, Dark Magician Girl was on her knees towards a painting of Horahtky, the Creator of Light on the limestone wall. "Oh Divine Horahtky Goddess of the light, please hear my prayers." She prayed with her might. "If there is someone who can save the pharaoh, please bring him here to us. Please."


	5. Searching For Grandpa

**So sorry for the wait everyone! Here is a cool new chapter which I hope you'll enjoy!**

 **PEACE**

Back on Earth, Yugi moved into the Gardeners' house and was settled in the Gardener's living room after dinner. He has to sleep on the couch bed. Téa's parents did not want him sleeping in the same room with their daughter, although they trusted him and knew him well. "How's the couch for you, Yugi? Is it comfortable enough for you?" Téa checked up on him.

"Yeah, it's fine." Yugi answered.

"How do you feel right now?"

"Fine, I guess."

"Is there anything you need? Want me to get you something before I go to bed?"

"No, I'll be fine, Téa. Thanks." He laid back down on his pillow.

"Don't worry, everything is going to be alright." His female friend assured. "Tomorrow, we're going to figure something out."

"I just wish I knew what is going on." Yugi said.

"Just get some sleep, Yugi." She said one last thing as she headed upstairs to her bedroom. "I'll see you in the morning." She turned off the light behind her.

"Good night, Téa." Yugi returned the reply as he turned over. He closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

Late that night, Yugi tossed and turned on the couch bed, moaning and shivering in his sleep. "Grandpa..." He mumbled. "Grandpa...where are you?"

In his dream, Yugi was stranded in the middle of nowhere, occupied by nothing but drifting white snow which blew over him mercilessly. His bare feet was buried under six inches of thick snow. His arms wrapped tightly around himself as snow powdered down on his hair, head, and shoulders. "I'm...It's so cold..." He shuddered. "I...c-c-can't feel my t-t-toes...so numb..."

" _Yugi_..." A faint voice called to him.

"Huh?" His cold head lifted up.

" _Yugi_!"

"Grandpa?" Yugi recognized the voice. A cold breath of air appeared from his lips.

" _Yugi, help me!_ " Solomon's voice cried from a far distance.

"Grandpa!" Yugi started moving slowly over the thick snow, ignoring the frostbite on his bare feet. He torpidly sprinted across the blank backward, trying to find the calling voice.

" _YUGI!_ "

"I'm coming, Grandpa!" Yugi desperately ran faster. He spotted an elderly figure from a distance. "Grandpa!"

"Yugi, help me!" The image of Solomon cried.

"I'm coming, Grandpa!" Yugi kept on sprinting. But no matter how fast he ran, his grandfather appeared to be drifting farther away from him, and he was running with all his strength.

"YUGI, HELP ME!" Grandpa then faded in the whiteout

"STOP! COME BACK!" Yugi shouted out to him and collapsed in the ground of snow. "Grandpa..." The He slipped onto the ice. He whimpered and laid on the cold ground on his stomach. "Grandpa..." Tears seeped from the corners of his eye. He then heard a crackling noise. He perked his head up and noticed several cracks appearing on the surface around him. He gasped in in alarm as the crevasses around him deepened and the rest of the ice disintegrated and melted into an ocean of subzero water, leaving him stranded on the last berg standing. He saw in front of him an abnormal ice twister which arose from the waters and to the boy's wonder, hardened. It shattered to hundred crystal shards and came staking down on the white grounds. Yugi yelped in alarm as he tried to avoid getting minced to ribbons by the falling glass. He nearly fell backwards on a cliff behind and stumbled away from the edge. But the worst is yet to come.

In front of him a colossal person with large spiky tricolored hair, bronze skin, and cold ruby eyes and in snow white Egyptian clothing rose up from the ditch and towered over the frightened small boy. Yugi's eyes widened in speechless awe. The colossal Snow Pharaoh stood tall and folded his lean muscular arms, leering down on him with those piercing arched red eyes that gave Yugi the biggest chills.

" **Looking for somebody?** " He boomed in a very loud baritone voice. He drew out his right hand. In his large palm is a round snow globe that contained a terrified frozen old man who was shivering in the swirling white flakes.

"Grandpa!" Yugi shouted.

"YUGI!" Solomon cried and banged on the glass barrier.

"Your grandpa belongs to me now!" The monumental Snow Pharaoh declared boastfully.

"YUGI!"

"GIVE HIM BACK!" Yugi screamed.

The Snow Pharaoh looked down on the boy and swooshed his blue cape around, twirling and transforming into an ice twister that puled Yugi into the frezing aqua vortex.

"GRAAAAANDPAAAAA!" He screamed as he tumbled in a frosty wind and crashed face down on the cold steady ground. He achingly lifted his head up and opened his eyes. Another cold gust blew over him. He could feel the snow particles scraping against his face.

He saw in front of him that his homeland, Domino City was buried in ice and deep snow. He gasped in awe and stood up. "My homeland, the city...it's...it's all buried in snow!" He exclaimed. "Where are my friends?" He looked beside him and gasped in horror at what he saw. Three bodies of his frozen friends stood in the outskirts of the city. They looked as if they were attacked by surprise, statued in ice and snow grits.

"Oh my god! Joey, Téa, Tristan!" He bawled as he held his friend's frigid hands and gawked. Slightly warm tears seeped from his round violet eyes.

Behind him, the Snow Pharaoh in normal size emerged from the whiteout and approached the young boy. His blue cape fluttered in the wind. "So little one, what do you think of the new city? Do you like the touches I put on?"

"You! What have you done to my friends and home?" Yugi shouted at the frost king.

"You're not amused?" The Snow Pharaoh looked at him with cold red eyes. "Don't worry, you will grow to like it."

"Grrr...aaaahhhh!" Yugi charged blindly at him, but the Snow Pharaoh swiftly counterattacked and entrapped the short teen in a crystal restraint by his ice powers.

"Hey! Let me out!" He shouted and squirmed in the hard quartz.

"Silly little boy!" The cold-blooded ruler of Egypt remarked. "You are no match for me." He grabbed the boy's pink cheeks and squeezed them together. "Your warm powers means nothing to me! My ice will extinguish that fire flickering inside your heart and it will become frozen, like mine."

Yugi grunted and struggled, writhing his face in the Snow Pharaoh's cold fingers. It felt like dry ice on his cheeks and they were burning on his skin.

"If you want your grandfather back, you'll have to play a game with me." The Egyptian arctic king said deeply.

"Game? What game?" Yugi asked.

"Come find me first at my Icy Pyramid. I'll be waiting for you, little one." The Snow Pharaoh let go of the small boy and faded away in the drift.

"WAIT! COME BACK!" Yugi screamed before everything turned all white again.

"GAH!" Yugi sprung up from his nightmare and woke up. He sat on the couch, panting and sweating. "Just a dream," he murmured. "Or was it?" He sighed and placed his hand on his head. He felt a damp spit on the fabric. "Oh no! Did I wet the bed?" He moaned in embarrassment. "I haven't done that since I was six." He felt the wet area. "Hold on...It's freezing cold." He sniffed at it. "It's not pee, it's just ice water." He moved the blanket aside and saw chunks of ice blocks melting beside his pajamas. "Where did this come from?" He held the ice cube in his hand. "This is actually real." He stared at the ice for long while before realizing what that dreamt meant. Grandpa is actually in trouble and he must go search for him before it's too late.

His black eyebrows scrunched down to his eye lids as he frowned in determination. He knew that he mustn't waste any time and immediate action must take place.

He swept the melted ice off the bed-couch, and rose out of the couch. He turned on the lamp, opened his sports bag and rummaged for clothes. "Hang in, Grandpa!" He mutterd to himself. "I'm coming."

* * *

Téa was fast asleep on her bed when Yugi, all dressed up, entered her dark bedroom and quietly approached her. "Psst! Téa? Téa?" He whispered. "Are you awake?"

He received no response. Téa stirred slightly and rolled on her side. Yugi moved closer to her and tapped her lightly. "Téa...Té-ah. Wake up."

Téa finally woke up with a startled gasp. "Wha-Oh...Who's there?"

"Shh! It's me, Téa." Yugi hissed.

"Yugi?" She sat up and turned on the lamp. "What's the matter?"

"I'm going to find my grandpa. I think he's still alive somewhere." Yugi answered. "But I don't know how much longer he has left."

"What time is it?" Téa checked her alarm clock. "Yugi, it's four-thirty in the morning."

"I'm aware of the time, Téa. But my grandpa is in danger. The Snow Pharaoh has him and he's got my grandfather hostage. He's waiting for me. He wants me to go and get him."

"What are you talking about?" She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"I had a dream about it. The Snow Pharaoh is challenging me. He gave me a sign." He showed the blocks of ice to her. "He's using my grandpa as bait to lure me into a trap so he could play a game with me. He wants me to go find my grandpa in his Icy Pyramid."

"Yugi, you're not making any sense."

"People don't just vanish vanish into thin air. Grandpa has been taken by the Snow Pharaoh. And I'm going to go after him, even if it means putting my life in danger."

"Yugi, it's too early. Can't we wait until the sundown and then we'll do this once we got a good night's sleep?" Téa complained and laid back down.

"If we wait any longer, we might be too late. Grandpa needs our help." Yugi said as he exited his friend's bedroom. "You stay here and catch up on your beauty sleep of you want, Téa. But I'm going to find my grandpa if it means doing it on my own." He was heading to the front door.

Téa groaned in dismay and realized that she has to be with there for her best friend, not matter what the circumstances or how serious the consequences.

Dubious at her decision, she got out of her bed, changed out of her pajamas, and joined her friend on the expatiation.

* * *

It was nearly daybreak when Yugi and Téa bicycled all the way back to countryside outside of Domino City, investigating on the dark road. They returned to the exact same spot where Solomon's Buick had fallen over. Yugi shone the flashlight on pavement until he spotted faded tire marks. "There! I think this is where my grandpa drove off from the road." He proceeded the light and onto the snowy grass where the tire tracks are still visible. He traced them downhill all the way to the frozen creek where Solomon's car used to be. "Here's the creek." He continued and stepped into the frozen water.

"I know you already told me that, but what exactly are we doing here?"

"I'm looking for some clues. The detective said that my grandpa got out of the car after it crashed into the water. He wasn't badly injured and may have a cut on his leg, but he couldn't have wander too far."

Téa stood behind him, hands inside her coat pockets. "That may be true. But the police said that the tracks disappeared right there on that spot. So no one really knows what happened to your grandfather next."

"People don't just vanish into thin air, Téa." Yugi said. "Something doesn't add up." He wavered his flashlight in caliginous forest. "My grandpa is a usually good driver, even under a storm. He wouldn't just drive off the road like that."

"Well, the roads are pretty slippery when it comes to blizzards." Téa said perspectively. "The ice on the roads are often the causes of car wrecks."

"That's not what I mean. Something must have freaked him out on the road and caused him to lose control." Yugi said.

"Perhaps he saw a squirrel. Or a deer."

"I doubt a deer could do this. No, there has to be something other than that." Yugi frowned as he shown the lights over the trees. "If you ask me, something strange is going on." Something caught his eye from the branches. "Wait a second." He shown the light back on a tree twig, viewing a bird's nest. He discovered something attached to the weave. "No way!"

"What? What do you see, Yugi?" Téa asked.

"Hold this." Yugi gave the flashlight to her so she can light the way while he leaped up the tree.

"Be careful, Yugi."

Slowly and very carefully, Yugi climbed up branch to branch and cautiously slipped onto the long limb of the tree, examining the bird's nest. "Téa, look at this." He picked up a two thin silver strings and held them up in the light.

"What's that?" Asked Téa.

"It looks like hair." Yugi analyzed.

"Hair?" Téa looked at it strangely.

"It might belong to a animal, I think." Yugi guessed.

"What kind of animal?"

"I'm not sure." Yugi stared at the hairs closer. "They're long and they're white and silver. They couldn't have belonged to a bear's or a rabbit. Whatever animal it was, I bet it was here when my grandfather disappeared that night."

"Do you think it's possible that those hairs may have been left behind by a horse?" Téa added one more theory.

"How can you tell?"

"I read that all hoofed mammals have over 1,082 strands of hair on mane and tail," Téa explained. "And there some more clues down here." She pointed to the ground, showing two-day-old circle prints in the snow.

Yugi slid down a tree trunk and gazed at the fading prints. "Hoof prints!" He exclaimed. "You were right, Téa. That might have been a horse." He placed his hand on his chin and thought hard. "Hmmm...Hold on! In my grandfather's stories, the Snow Pharaoh rides on his horse while traveling to another world." His eyebrows rose with conjecture. "You know what I think? I think it was the Snow Pharaoh who kidnapped my grandfather! I knew that dream wasn't coincidence. The Snow Pharaoh is challenging me."

Téa frowned and folded her arms. "Okay. But there's one thing puzzles me; if the Snow Pharaoh wants to to challenge you, then why didn't he come and find you?"

"'Cause he's scared of my warm heart, Téa. His weakness is warm hearts, remember? He knows that I would go looking for my grandfather. The Snow Pharaoh is using my grandpa as bait to lure me to his pyramid."

"You know, that actually does make sense."

"Exactly."

"That may be the case. But Yugi, you shouldn't just assume that some mythical snow king took your grandpa?"

Do you even know where Icy Pyramid is?"

"Well, what else is there? You got another theory?"

"We should probably ask around, see if there are other witnesses who may know of what really happened to your grandfather." She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. "Besides it's freezing out here. We'll catch a cold on this wild goose chase. If my toes get frostbite, it'll be on you. I need my dancing toes."

"You can go home if you want, Téa, but I won't rest until I find my grandpa. We'll ask someone alright. I'll bet you they too saw a horse carrying off with my grandpa."

my grandfather." His eyes scanned the scenery caught sight of a two-story exclusive cabin. "Hey, maybe someone who lives in that cabin knows." He ran off to the cabin.

"Yugi, wait!" Téa chased after him.

Yugi jumped onto the porch of the cabin and began to knock on the door. There was no answer.

Téa caught up to him. "They're must be still asleep. We shouldn't disturb anybody at this early hour."

Yugi ignored her and knocked on the door again. Five minutes later, a little boy with long shaggy black hair answered. Apparently, he had been asleep because he was in his night shirt and rubbing his eyes. "Who is it?"

"Hi, uh..." Yugi's voice froze. At that moment, he felt awkward. Suddenly, he didn't know what to ask him.

The boy looked at him questionably.

"Yugi?" Téa asked, also feeling awkward.

"Hi, uh..." Yugi repeated. He cleared his throat and gathered up the words he planned to say. "Sorry to bother you so early at this hour, but um...are your parents home?"

The boy looked at him for a while. "Hey, Seto!" He hollered. "There's someone is at the door!" He stepped aside.

Yugi and Téa waited a moment later until a taller teen boy came to the doorway, standing by the smaller boy. He eyed at the two visitors and asked "can I help you with something?"

Yugi and Téa looked at each other and back at the boys. "Yes, my name is Yugi Mutou, and we need help with something."

"Are you lost?" Seto asked.

"No."

"Then what's your state of business here?" Seto asked in a soundingly demanding voice. "I do not have the time to be dawdling with faceless people unless they have a business proposition to discuss."

Téa stared at the browned haired teenage boy. "Yugi, that's Seto Kaiba, the president of Kaiba Corp, the biggest gaming industries of the planet!" She whispered to her friend.

"You bet my brother is!" Mokuba heard her. "He's the big shot in Domino City and makes tons of money making game, including Ice Cube Monsters."

"Well, get on with it!" Seto demanded. "I'm a very busy person and already you wasted five minutes of my time."

"Right. Um, you remember that car accident that happened in this location? " Yugi brought up.

Yeah, we heard that some old man fell into a creek near by our cabin, crawled out some tipped over car, and then disappeared!" Mokuba piped up.

Téa and Yugi blinked in hoped reaction. "You saw him?"

"Sort of. It was so blurry and we had to stay inside." Mokuba answered.

Seto huddled his brother to his side. "We were aware of the accident that took place here." He informed the two friends. "What of it?"

"You see, the old man that was involved in the accident was my grandfather." Yugi depicted.

The brothers looked slightly surprised. "Really? That was your grandfather?"

Yugi and Téa nodded his head. "Hmm-mmm. That's why we're here. I think he's alive somewhere and we are currently trying to track him down,

Seto looked down stonily at the short boy. "What makes you think that I have any knowledge of your grandfather's disappearance?"

Téa suddenly felt very uncomfortable being on the porch of the Kaibas' cabin, having seconds of asking a couple of strangers for clues about a Snow Pharaoh (which they probably don't believe in).

"We were wondering if you happened to see anything else after my grandfather crashed into the creek." Yugi interrogated. "Did you see anything extraordinary? Something out of the ordinary? Perhaps maybe you saw a person riding on horse? Like maybe it was the Snow Pharaoh? Did you see them take my grandfather and then disappeared to another world?"

"Yugi..."

The Kaiba brothers at first looked at the tricolored boy like he was weird and then glanced at each other. "Snow Pharaoh?" The small boy repeated in queer.

"Look, sonny..." Seto started. "What's your name?"

"Yugi Muto."

"Look, Yugi, I don't know where you're getting these absurd ideas of something that doesn't exist in this world come here in this country just to kidnap some old geezer, but let me assure you that this so-called Snow Pharaoh is all just a myth." I'm sorry to hear that your grandfather got stolen, but your hocus-pocus imagination will not get you anyplace except the Domino Madhouse."

Yugi stated at the CEO. "But-"

"There's no such thing. Your grandpa probably just ran off hiding somewhere where those lazy huntsman forgot to look."

Yugi and Téa looked at each other and shook their heads. "Something tells me that he's not going to help us." The brunette said.

"Darn right. You'll just have to ask someone." Seto replied coolly. "I got too many things to do than stand around, chat with a bunch of nobodies!"

Mokuba looked at his brother like he did something wrong. He knew that his brother was cold, but how can he turn away two lost people when all they want was simple answers of their missing person?

"If you'll excuse me, I got paperwork to finish. Then I'm have to get started on the intern reports." Seto held the door to close it.

"Have a nice day then. We're sorry we bothered you, Mr. Kaiba." Téa apologized rather coldly.

"Don't let the gate hit you on the way out." Seto returned.

"Nice guy." Yugi muttered.

Disappointed with their discussion, Téa and Yugi reluctantly turned away from the door and were making their leave from the brothers' front porch. Mokuba watched them with sorriness, feeling like just telling them of he knew, despite what his brother said. Just when Seto was about to close the door when Mokuba shot out from inside and caught up to the departing friends. "Hold on!"

"Mokuba!" Seto shouted.

"Between you and me, I too think the Snow Pharaoh exists." Mokuba secretly informed Yugi. "I read about him in the books I secretly read when my big brother wasn't around."

"MOKUBA!"

"Calm down, bro! He just wanted to know where his grandpa is! I was telling him what I know!"

"I do not care! I don't want your mind getting poisoned by all this fairy tale nonsense. You need to be serious all the time when you're at work. Business is not all fun and games!"

Mokuba frowned and marched back inside, quickly turning around so his brother doesn't see him mimicking his lecturing. Yugi silently thanked him when he was facing towards him and Téa while walking backwards.

Just then, the CEO's tablet phone vibrated in his robe. Seto answered it right away and appeared in the screen is a face of a man with dark blue hair, mustache, and was wearing a pair of shades. "Roland? This better be good news. Have you managed to track down the third Blue Eyes White Dragon?"

Mokuba looked up at his brother's side, hoping for results. Téa and Yugi also listened in.

"Uh...well, um, actually, uh..." The man on the screen stalled between sentences, looking sheepish. "You see, we...We meant to find it...I mean...well...we're making progress..." He sighed bluntly. "Not exactly, sir."

"What do you mean not exactly?" Seto demanded. "How hard is it to find a super rare card?"

Téa scowled at his conceited and obnoxious attitude. Yugi raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

"I'm sorry, sir." Roland apologized. "But we have searched all over, we checked in stores, collector's shop, even online..."

Seto rolled his eyes in disgust. "I have paid you guys to find that third Blue Eyes, but I guess my money's not good enough for you to do one simple task. If you can't do that, then DON'T bother calling back!"

Disgruntled, he pressed the hang-up button and noticed that to Téa and Yugi are still in their presence, listening in. "Why are you guys still here? I told you there's nothing here about your grandfather."

"Excuse me, but I couldn't help but hear that you are looking for a Blue Eyes White Dragon," Yugi said.

"Yes?" The brunet said, looking down at the small violet-eyed teen. "What's it to you?"

"What if I told you that I happened to have a Blue Eyes White Dragon?" Yugi gambled.

Seto stared at the small boy like he's crazy. "I'd say you're lying. No way that a puny child like yourself could possibly possess a rare card such as Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

"Well, if I do happened to have one in my hand, would you tell me how to find my grandpa?" Yugi asked.

"Yugi, what are you doing?" Téa asked.

"It's the only way to save my grandpa," Yugi replied.

Seto rolled his eyes. "Quit wasting my time with your absurdity and pathetic attempts to get me to talk. Everyone knows Blue Eyes White Dragon is one of a kind. Unless, you got a card shop that holds hundreds of cards, it'll take a miracle for someone to get hold of that card."

"In that case, I just happened to be a miracle for you," Yugi reached in his back pocket. "Is this the one you're looking for?" He presented the rare shimmering card that depicted a large white dragon with blue eyes.

The Kaiba's brothers stared at it with awe. "Could it be...?" Mokuba spoke up.

"This can't be!" Seto beheld it and examined the quality. His blue eyes widened with awe. "It's real! The...the...The third Blue Eyes White Dragon! It's right here!" He stated as he could believe it. "It's the one I've been searching for!"

Mokuba exclaimed in awe and jumped up and down in enthusiasm. "Awesome! Seto, you finally found the third rare Blue Eyes White Dragon! Now you'll become an even stronger duelist in the world!"

"But how on Earth did you acquire it?" Kaiba asked.

"It was given to me by my grandfather, Solomon Mutou, the owner of Kame Game Shop." Yugi answered.

Seto's eyes expanded even further. "Your grandfather is Solomon Mutou? The Kame Game Shop owner?"

"Yes, he is. And now he is missing. That's why we're here, searching for him." Yugi said, eyes shinmering.

"That old-fashioned game shop had the Blue Eyes White Dragon?" Seto said in surprise. "It figures."

"You can have it in exchange for your assistance to find my grandfather," Yugi offered.

"But that's your prized possession, Yugi." Téa said. "Your grandpa gave it to you, remember?"

"I know, but with my grandpa gone, I have nothing left to give now." Yugi said.

Seto shook his head. "Kid, you can't just bribe me with a Blue Eyes White Dragon just so you can find your grandfather, despite that I have been searching for months and I am itching to take that card from your hand. It's not the way of business."

"Seto!" Mokuba ejected, shocked that his brother would reject his only chance of getting the third Blue Eyes White Dragon.

"As I said before, I am a very busy man and you have wasted thirty more minutes of my time!" Seto put in coldly.

Yugi's face sunk in dejection.

Téa sighed sadly. "Come on, Yugi." She reached to take her friend's hand. "Let's just go."

Yugi broke down and fell to his knees as restrained tears finally burst from his eyes. "Please, Seto! I'm desperate!" He sobbed and grabbed the CEO's robe. "If you were the only one who saw my grandfather, then I wouldn't have anyone else to turn to but myself! My last hope rests with you and now it has been stopped cold in its tracks because you refuse to take my Blue Eyes White Dragon and grant me a simple request."

Mokuba's black eyes began to water. Now he felt extreme guilt for being unhelpful.

Seto looked down at the crying boy and bended down to rub his hand across Yugi's tricolored hair. "Hey, come on, kid, it's not like..."

Téa scowled at the coldhearted CEO with distaste. "You know, Seto. For a business man, you're pretty inconsiderate and uncaring when it comes to people who are in need of assistance. If I had all that money, I'd use it to help find all the lost grandfathers in the world! If you were in Yugi's position, you would knew a thing about kindness or two! But all you care about is money!"

Seto was taken back by her words. He had to admit, no one had the gall to talk to him like that.

"Hey, give my brother a break!" Mokuba jumped to his brother's defense. ""It's been a rough week for him with all the overwhelming sales, making appearances, and publicities piling up on him. It's not like he's being the bad guy here."

Yugi looked up, tears still flowing from his eyes. "I may not know it and I could wrong, but I do believe that most people have a drop of goodness deep down in their hearts. If you can look inside your heart, you'll have the ounce of kindness to reconsider of helping me find my grandfather! You absolutely have no idea of what I'm going through!"

Seto's stony expression softened. "Aw man...come on." He placed his hand on his head. "You're tearing me apart!" His blue eyes glistened. Somehow, he felt as if his cold heart melted and the stoniness in his core had turned to soft mush. He can imagine being alone without someone he loved. All these years at the orphanage, all he had was his baby brother Mokuba after their parents disappeared without a trace. And life with their new stepfather Gozaburo was no better than their previous life.

"And think about it; What would you do if your little brother was taken away and you had to go find him?" Yugi continued.

Seto sighed and looked down at his younger brother, rubbing his shaggy black hair. "I'd do the same thing you are doing. I would trade away my rarest Blue Eyes White Dragon just to find my little brother, my only family in the world."

Mokuba cocked his head at the warmth of his brother's hand, smiling lovingly.

Yugi sniffled and lightened up. "Of course you would."

Téa cooed at that.

Seto clicked his tongue. His sapphire blue eyes turned back to his younger brother who nodded in approval. He believed that it's time that they must do what it is think is right, even when it's outside of business.P

"Wait here." Seto closed the door for a second. There was a sound of ruffling inside. "Mokuba, where's the thing?" He asked.

"Um, I think it's in the bottom of the cabinet drawer," the younger brother answered.

Téa and Yugi looked at each other in curiosity and waited in anticipation. Another second later, Seto returned with a pamphlet in his hand. "Here. Take this."

Yugi took the pamphlet from him and looked at it with question. "What is it?"

"The key to finding your grandfather." Seto answered simply. "It's a guide book to Duelist Kingdom Island."

"I don't understand."

"You'll have to go to a man named Maximilian Pegasus. He's my business partner. He's like the expect of all mystical and strange objects. He might be able to help you." He informed. "He lives in a huge castle which is in the middle of the the island. You have to take a boat to get there. Go to Domino Pier, look for a guy called Kemo. Tell him Seto Kaiba sent you. He'll board you on a ship named S. S. Cargo."

Téa and Yugi beamed in contented gratitude.

"Thank you." The tricolored whispered, extreme gratitude flowing from his eye. "Oh, here, don't forget your Blue Eyes White Dragon." He lent it to the CEO.

Seto shook his head and gently rejected the card. "Keep your Blue Eyes White Dragon. I was very touched that you were willing to give up your most valuable gods just to find your grandfather." He smiled. "I would have done the same."

"Thank you so much, Seto." Yugi smiled with joy and hugged the brown-haired teen tightly, nearly crushing his pancreas.

"Aawww!" Mokuba said in admiration, watching this touching scene.

"Ack! Okay, okay! Enough!" Seto pried off the groveling boy off him. "Get off me! You better get going to Pegasus. He's really a busy man and you better get to him or you'll never find your grandfather."

"Right. Wish us luck!" Yugi packed it up before hopping off the Kaibas' porch.

"Good luck to you guys!" Mokuba waved farewell.

"Thanks again!" Téa waved back before joining her friend.

The brothers closed the door behind them. "Wow, that was unexpected of you, big brother." The small black-haired boy commented. "I didn't think you had a drop of kindness in you."

"Don't get it through your head, Mokuba. This is a one time only." The tall brunet said. "I only did it because I don't want to have that in my conscience. Besides you, that kid is the only one I show compassion to and nobody else."

"Sure you did, Seto." Mokuba put his hands on hips and smirked. He knew that his brother wouldn't want to admit it, but underneath that cool exterior of a business tycoon and powerful duelist is a kind-hearted soul who can help people who can't help themselves.

"Whatever you say, big bro."

It was fully daybreak, Téa and Yugi returned to their bicycles on the road. "So, we have to go to Duelist Kingdom Island to see this Pegasus guy, right?" The short tri-colored teen said. "Kaiba said he'll help us find my grandpa."

"How exactly is this Pegasus dude going to help us?" Téa asked, feeling dubious.

"I'm not sure. Kaiba didn't say how this Pegasus will." Yugi replied, sharing her curiosity. "He just said go to Duelist Kingdom and find him there."

"How exactly do we get there?"

"Kaiba said we have to go Domino Pier and catch the next boat ride." Yugi looked at the pamphlet.

"Yeah, just one little problem; Domino Pier is a little far away from here. It about thirty miles from here by bike and the boat will be gone by the time we arrived."

Yugi stopped, feeling screwed. "Oh, I didn't think of that." His spikes drooped down in discouragement. He sighed sadly and slumped in his bike. "Guess we'll never find my grandpa now."

"That will not be a problem. We'll get you guys there in a flash!" A familiar Brooklyn voice said.

"Huh?" Téa and Yugi looked up in response and scanned their surroundings for the voice.

They saw that their good friends, Joey and Tristan were standing near the motorcycle on the road, behind them.

"Hey, bro!" The Brooklyn voice greeted. "What's shaking?"

"Joey? Tristan?" Yugi said in surprise. "What are you guys going here?"

"What do you think we're doing here, Yug? We're being here for you." Tristan answered. "We can take you to Domino Pier in a couple of minutes on our bikes."

"Shame on you for not tellin' us that you were on a quest." Joey added.

"How did you know we were out here?" Téa asked.

"Let's say a birdie told us," Tristan said.

"In other words, my sista who lives in dis area spotted you and called me up ta ask me if I knew a boy with a unique hairstyle with three colors. And den I thought, the only kid I know who possess dat hairstyle is my best friend Yug." Joey added, scratching his dirty blond hair. "And here we are."

His parents were divorced when he was a little kid. Joey lived with his dad in Domino City while his mother and sister moved to a town far away from Domino City.

"So what's the scoop, guys?" Tristan asked. "What's the reason for you to being out here so early in the morning?"

"Well..." Téa hesitated for she had think that her other male friends would not believe that she and Yugi are hunting for the mythical Snow Pharaoh who has Mr. Muto captive in another dimension. "Actually, I don't think you guys would understand. It's kind of crazy, even for you guys to believe."

Joey and Tristan looked with increased curiosity. "Try us. We're your friends," the blonde teen encouraged.

"Remember that blizzard that nearly buried our city a couple days ago?" Yugi tried. "Well, guess what? I believe it was the Snow Pharaoh who came into our world!"

The taller boys gaped in awe.

"That's not all!" Yugi continued rambling on. "I know where my grandfather disappeared to. He was captured by the Snow Pharaoh himself! He was coming after me, but couldn't get near me because he's scared of my warm heart. So he caught my grandfather to lure me into a trap!" He left out no detail.

Slowly and gradually, Joey and Tristan fully understood what their friends were doing. "So you're on the quest to find them, huh?" The pointy-haired teen nodded. "I knew there was something strange about the blizzard and your grandpa's disappearance. But I didn't expect that the Snow Pharaoh would be behind all this."

"If dat Snow Pharaoh wants a challenge, then we're gonna give him one!" Joey said, clenching his fist in determination.

"'We'?" Yugi repeated.

Tristan and Joey grinned cockily. "Yeah, you bet 'we'!" The pointy-haired teen announced buoyantly. "You don't honestly think we'd allow you to go after the Snow Pharaoh by yourself, did you?"

"Shame on you for not calling us and telling us that you were on a hunt!" Joey added and placed Yugi in headlock and gave him a little noogie. "We're gonna to stick around and help you find your grandpa with no questions ask." He put in firmly as he rubbed his knuckles across of his short friend's hair.

"I totally appreciate you guys of what you're doing, but you really didn't have to do this." Yugi said.

"Come on, man! Don't be silly!" Tristan chimed. "We're more than happy to aide you on your quest. In fact, it'd be insult to us if you don't let us help ya!"

"Plus, we needed a little adventure," Joey added. "We were kind bored and went out to search for a piece of excitement and we decided to take advantage of dis opportunity!" He grinned.

Téa chuckled. "Either way, we're glad that you guys came. We could really use some support. Especially Yugi." She turned to her friend who scratched his head.

"No big whump! We stick together! Remember, that friendship mark Téa put on our hands?" Joey bought up a memory when Téa used a black marker to draw a "smiley face" on the backs of hers and her three friends' hands as a symbol of their permanent friendship. "We made a inseparable bond which we could not break. We swore dat no matter how far we are or how busy we are, we'll always come right to your aide and be there by your side whenever you needed."

Yugi's purple eyes sparkled. "You'll really do that for me?"

"Dat's what friends do, right?" Joey said. "Besides, your grandpa is like our grandpa too! Mr. Mutou taught me everything about playing Duel Monsters. If not for him, I would still be losing all duels and not be a contender."

"That's true. Now you're losing most duels and ranked as runner-ups." Tristan remarked.

Joey growled and glared. "Anyway, you had our backs right before we even became friends. You taught me the value of friendship and helped me see the wrongs I've been doing! Now it's time I return da favor."

Yugi was so blessed to be accompanied by good friends, he started sniffling. "You guys are the best." His eyes went teary. "I'll never forget this."

Joey's brown eyes also sparkled. "Hey, come on, don't cry, Yug. You'll make me water!" He shielded his teary eyes with his forearm.

"With us by your side, it'll be allright." Tristan added. "We're gonna kick some butt! No rain, heat, or even Snow Pharaoh is gonna bring us down!"

Joey recovered and added with a confident smirk. "Why?"

"' _Cause we could be immortals, immortals!_ " In bolded spirits, Joey and Tristan began singing the lines of their favorite song. " _Just not for long, for long! We could be immoooo-ooh, immortals! Immoooo-ooooh, immortals! Mmooo-ooh, immortals!_ "

While the boys kept singing, Téa looked at her serious best friend and asked. "Well, Yugi, looks we're on a brand new adventure. A quest to save your grandfather from the clutches of the Snow Pharaoh."

"Yep. And not only will I save my grandpa, but I will duel the Snow Pharaoh and put him in his place. Best we get going." He turned around and he and Téa joined their friends, embarking on a new journey. "Hold on, Grandpa. We're coming to save you!"

* * *

From the eye window, Atem, former ruler of Egypt perceived that his target and friends are en route to his Icy Pyramid, in pursuit of Solomon Mutou, his prisoner and the ice king himself.

"Looks like young Yugi and his friends are on their way to the rescue his grandfather," he said. His fingers were touching together in a form of a triangle. "Excellent." His lips curled into a smirk. "When he reunites with his grandpa in my pyramid, I will be here to greet him and then challenge him to a game of Ice Cube Monsters, whether he wants to or not." His red eyes glistened like rubies through his cognizance. "Come find me, little one. I'll be ready for you." He chortled deeply in such haughty confidence, continuing watching his target from the crystal eye window.

 **There are you. Again, sorry for the long wait.**

 **That favorite song that Joey and Tristan were singing was from "Immortals" by Fallout Boy which I do not own. (Disclaimer) Great song**

 **I'll try to keep posting more chapters as I write more stories in the future. Hope you're having a great year.**

 **PEACE**


	6. Travelling to Another World

**So sorry for the wait, everyone! I hope every had a very good Christmas.**

 **PEACE**

The Snow Pharaoh watched the friends traveling down the country road, on their way to Domino Pier. Téa rode with Joey, while Tristan had Yugi riding in the sidecar. They were driving at nearly 75 MPH, the wind blew against their eyes and mouths. Joey and Tristan would tilt their bikes sideways on each sharp turn they had make, causing the passengers to yelp in surprise as they thought they were going to literally hit the road and roll on the hard pave. "Do you think you can slow down a bit?" Yugi requested over the velocity.

"What?" Tristan shouted back.

"I said 'DO YOU THINK YOU CAN SLOW DOWN?!'" Yugi hollered a little louder.

"I can't hear you! You'll have to speak louder! I'm driving over the speed limit!" Tristan hollered back. "You better hang on to something!"

"WWWAAAAHH!" Yugi howled as Tristan cranked up the speedometer, riding at full throttle.

"Where did you get this motorcycle, Joey?" Téa shouted. "I've never seen you with one?"

"I borrowed it from my dad!" Joey replied back. "Though he doesn't know dat I did that. Took it from his garage while he was asleep!"

"Do you even know how to drive?" Téa shouted.

"Ehh, I may have taken a few lessons!" Joey replied from under his motorcycle helmet. "What does this thing do?" He pressed something and the motorcycle rose up and leaned on its rear wheel. "WHOA! I didn't know I could do that!"

Téa screamed and clutched on to Joey tightly, hoping she wouldn't fall off.

The foursome rode throughout the rest of the bumpy trip until they finally arrived at the Domino Pier. Joey and Tristan parked their motorbikes and removed their helmets.

"Here we are, Domino Pier!" Joey announced.

"Last stop, everyone out!" Tristan turned to his passenger who inclined in the sidecar seat, feeling quesy. "You feeling okay, Yugi?"

Yugi groaned and pulled up his helmet. There was hint of green across his face, like he was going to hurl. "Yeah, just a little nauseous."

"Well, I did warn you about the bumps and sharp turns." Tristan scratched his head.

Téa groaned and held her stomach as Joey helped her off the motorcycle seat. "Come on, Téa. It wasn't dat bad." The carefree blond said. "Got ya here, didn't I?"

"Next time, we're taking the bus." Téa blurted out as she leaned against a fence to relax.

"So where's da boat?" Joey asked.

"Should be around here somewhere." Yugi scanned the area and spotted a large ship sitting on the dock. "There it is!" He pointed. He and Yugi hurried over to the area to get a closer look at the ship.

"Is this da one?" Joey asked. "Is dis the boat we're supposed to get one?"

"I think so," Yugi took a closer look at the name of the ship. "'S. S. Cargo.' Yep, that's the one. Kaiba said it should take us to Duelist Kingdom Island."

"Duelist Kingdom Island, that's where this Pegasus person lives, right?" Téa said.

TOOT! TOOT!

"Looks like the ship is about to depart," Yugi said. "We better get on board!" He and his friends hurried themselves on board. They quickly found a loading ramp that just about to be removed when they sprinted upwards.

"Hold it!" A middle-aged man in a black suit and wearing sunglasses halted them. "Do you have your boarding passes?"

"Eh, boarding passes?" Joey and Tristan felt awkward.

"No, but we do need to get on this boat. We need to go to Duelist Kingdom Island and see Maximilian Pegasus." Yugi said. "Is your name Kemo?"

"Who wants to know?" The man in black folded his arms.

"The president of KaibaCorp, Seto Kaiba sent us over here to take the S. S. Cargo. He said to look for you so you can let us on."

Kemo cocked his eyebrows and eyed at the short boy, thinking he might be telling a fib. "Is that right?" He pulled out his cell phone. "I'm going to go check if you don't mind." He dialed the number and called upon the superior of Kaiba Corp. "Yes, this is Kemo calling. Just calling in to tell you that some kid claimed that you sent him and a trio of other delinquents over here ride the S. S. Cargo. I want to check it with you and make sure that it's true."

While the Joey looked offended. "Delinquents?" He growled through his provoked teeth.

"I see. Hmm-mmm." Kemo nodded as he listened through the receiver. "Okay then, thank you." He closed his cell phone tight. "He did. You're telling the truth."

Yugi smiled and nodded. "Hmm-mmm."

"Sorry about that. I was just checking." Kemo said apologetically. "Seto Kaiba is one of the biggest gaming CEO's, you know."

"Ha! He's also one of da biggest snobs in da world from what I read," Joey added.

"Joey!" Téa exclaimed.

"It's alright, I sort of agree to that young man's comment." Kemo said. "Don't tell Mr. Kaiba I said that." He stepped aside so the kids can enter in the ship. "You may proceed inside, but you'll have to ride in stowage." The kids looked at the man in displeasure.

"Have a safe voyage and give Mr. Pegasus my regards." Kemo bowed. "Oh, and when you see Pegasus in person, try not to stare." He enigmatically added one more detail. The friends looked at each other in query as the door closed in on them.

TOOOOOT! The ship's horn blew off. The S. S. Cargo sailed off, docking from Domino Pier. The ship sailed across the ocean, on its way to Duelist Kingdom Island.

Inside the stowage, Yugi, Téa, Tristan, and Joey lounged around next to the huge sacks of mail and large dozen crates and other cargo. For them, it wasn't exactly a pleasant cruise. Joey leaned against the wall and held his stomach, feeling seasick. "Ooohhhh...I don't feel so good," he moaned.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Téa said.

"There are plenty of spots you can use," Tristan answered.

"I'm not a boy!" Téa snapped, feeling embarrassed.

Yugi, sitting with his knees up to his chin, looked at his grandfather's prized card and felt an anxious knot twisting in his stomach. "I certainly hope that this Pegasus guy will help me find my grandpa." He thought.

Finally, the S. S. Cargo reached its destination and docked on the port of Duelist Kingdom Island.

The kids left the ship, along with the other contestants and tourists, and explored the island. "On the left, you can see how well the vegetation has expanded over the island." A tour guide depicted. "After the volcano-"

Yugi came to up to a tour guide leader and asked. "Excuse me, but where would Pegasus' castle be?"

"Please hold off all questions until the end of the tour," the leader disregarded him and continued rambling on about the sights.

"Looks like we have to wait until the end of the tour." Téa said and folded her arms.

"There's no time for that," Yugi shook his head and wandered from the group.

"What a second, Yugi. You shouldn't just separate from the group during the tour. It's rude." Tristan said.

Yugi didn't hear him. He ran into the forest, disappearing into the trees.

"He's gone." Joey said.

"Wait for us, Yugi!" Téa cried.

The three separated from the tour group and caught up to their friend as they wondered deep in the forest.

"How are we going to find it in this thick forest?" Téa asked.

Her answer came quickly when they then came upon a huge fortress. "This must be it, Pegasus' castle." Yugi said.

"Looks bigger than one in da brochure," Joey said.

"Kinda looks like the one in a old fairy tale book." Tristan commented. "I thought he would be living a super tall stainless steel building with mirror windows."

"I wonder if that Pegasus person is home?" Téa asked.

"Only one way to find out! Let's go over there!" He ran on ahead to the castle.

"Yugi, wait!" Téa, Joey, and Tristan chased after their mini friend who ran up the stairs and approached two large doors. He knocked on them and they both swung heavily opened.

With caution, Yugi and the gang stepped inside the castle and roamed down the elongated hallway. "Hello?" He called out. "Hello! Anyone home?"

"Pegasus must be outta town, 'cause it doesn't like anyone's home." Joey said.

"No, he's gotta be home, Joey." Said Yugi. "Kaiba said that he is always in his castle."

"It's kinda big and long of a maze here, even for a castle," Tristan said. "Where are we going to find this Pegasus?"

His answer was soon answered when they approached another closed door, guarded by another man in a black suit.

"Maybe he's in that room?" Yugi assumed.

The middle-aged suit with teal-colored hair noticed a bunch of uninvited kids coming this way. "Hey! How'd you kids get in here?" He addressed.

"Chill, old man, we just wanna talk to Maximilian Pegasus," Joey said. "We got some very important business ta discuss with him.

"You cannot see Master Pegasus without an appointment," the suit replied firmly. "Besides he is currently on his teatime and does not like to be disturbed."

"I'm sorry to intrude like this, but we need to see Maximilian Pegasus," Yugi said. "Seto Kaiba sent us over here to go see him."

"Seto Kaiba? The president of KaibaCorp?" The man looked surprised.

"Please, this is very important, sir." Yugi entreated.

"Now stand aside, sir, we gotta chat with Pegasus," Joey demanded.

The man stood his ground, refusing to back down. "I am NOT letting anyone into Master Pegasus' room without an appointment!"

"What is the problem out here, Croquet?" A suave rather charming voice emanated from inside the closed room. "How is a person supposed to read his favorite comic book while sipping on white wine with all the hullabaloo?"

"I'm sorry, Master Pegasus, but I got a bunch of delinquents who refused to leave here." Croquet the door guard answered. "

Joey snarled. "Again with the 'delinquents'! Who are dose jerks think they're judging?"

"Calm down there, Joey." Tristan soothed him. "Save your excitement when we see the Snow Pharaoh."

"What do these children want?" The man's voice asked.

"They just said they wanted to see you," Croquet responded.

"Hmmm..." There was a second of silence behind the door. "Do let them in, Croquet. I see no harm in them."

"As you wish, Master Pegasus." Croquet bowed and accepted. "Mr. Pegasus will attend to you shortly. Behave yourselves." the butler stood by to the entrance, allowing the children access to the mystery man's room. The doors swung open, and Pegasus' voice invited over. "Come in, everyone. Make yourselves at home."

The children cautiously stepped inside the mysterious room. The doors closed behind them. They examined their surroundings. The man they were supposed to see is nowhere to be found. "Hey, where is Mr. Pegasus?" Tristan wondered.

"Don't be strangers, children. Come into the dining room." The voice enticed. The kids then entered the elongated dining hall where they spotted a man sitting in a very long table. The man in front of them had long silver hair down to his shoulders and his attire was a red business suit with white frills, and white shoes. His nose was literally stuck in a thick comic book. In fact, he was so buried in his book, his face is concealed. He mumbled incoherently as he stuffed his mouth with saltine crackers combined with expensive-looking cheese.

The group looked at each other and Yugi anxiously walked up to "Um...Is your name Maximilian Pegasus?" Yugi asked. "The president of Kaiba Corp, Seto Kaiba sent us over here. He said you can help us find my grandfather."

The man behind the book ceased mumbling and munching. "Well, isn't that's typical? I hardly Everybody only wanted to see me for my magic. No one actually wanted to visit me." He kept his face in the book.

The kids looked at him with confusion. "Magic? We didn't mention anything about magic." Téa said.

The man behind the book looked as if he had just spilled the beans. "Oopsie. Guess my dear friend Kaiba Boy didn't mention you that I have powers."

The kids frowned, for they have no idea what that guy was talking about. "Hey, aren't you the president of Industrial Illusions?" Tristan asked.

"As a matter of fact, I am. In fact, I am the president of the biggest game publishing company in the state of California." He put the comic book down, revealing his face. His left eye is concealed with a chunk of his long hair. "Also, I am the best known creator of the famous trading card game of all, Duel Monsters."

The kids eyed on the Duel Monster creator in interest.

"Dude, what is up with his eye?" Tristan whispered to Joey.

"Must have self-esteem issues," the blond muttered back.

"I heard about you," the tricolored teen said. "I read that you traveled to Egypt and discovered ancient stone tablets that depicted images of Duel Monsters, then you turned them into a board game."

"It's nice to meet some kids who are totally interested in Egyptian archaeology rather than junky video games with historical inaccuracies." The white-haired man said, continuing his reading time while munching on crackers with cheese. "Well, enough about me, what is it you need?"

"Um..." Yugi was about to say something when he was interrupted by Pegasus who glimpsed at the again and rose from his chair. "Don't you say another word." He raised a hushing hand. "Let me take a gander at you." He stood over the short teen which made Yugi stepped backwards.

Pegasus placed his hand on the small boy's head and leveled him to his face.

"Um, what are you doing, sir?" Yugi asked,

"Just relax, I'm just going to see what's really on your mind..." The white-haired man answered enigmatically.

"My mind?" Yugi blinked.

Téa and Tristan stared at the odd man with caution.

"Hmmm..." Pegasus lowered his eyebrow as his one brown eye shone.

In the reflection of his pupil, Yugi feeling a bit uneasy with the old coot staring literally at him in the face.

Joey felt that something isn't right. "Tristan, I don't got a good feeling about dis guy. I'm thinkin' he's some kind of pervert." He whispered to Tristan.

"You're right, brother. We better step in and keep Yugi safe." The pointy-haired teen agreed.

"Now wait just a minute, you guys." Téa put her arm in front of her male friends. "Let's let the man do his job."

Pegasus hummed as he continued to stare at Yugi. He then nodded and said "Snow Pharaoh, you say? Well, can't say that I've never heard of him, because I certainly do."

"Huh?" Yugi's eyes widened in confusion. "But how did you-"

"Know about the Snow Pharaoh and your grandfather?" Pegasus finished. "Let's just say I could read minds."

"Read minds?" Yugi repeated.

Pegasus smirked mysterious and moved a tuft of hair that was covering his left eye.

The kids gawked at him with awe. The mystery man had some kind of prosthetic eye made out of gold, but full of magic. "Did you see that?" Joey exclaimed loudly and pointed. "Dat old geezer got a freaky eyeball in his-"

Téa quickly silenced him by clamping up his mouth and nose. "Ssh! Joey! You're not supposed to say things that offend him!"

Joey muffled behind Téa's hands.

"It's alright, my dear Téa girl." The mysterious white-haired man assured charmingly. "I get that all the time. People considered me odd and a little bit eccentric. But hey, that's who I am, darling. I don't really give a hoot of what people think of me."

The children gawked in surprise. "Hey, how did you know my name is Téa?" The brunette asked.

Joey, still muted by Téa mumbled: Yeah, how do ya know dat?

Pegasus' brown eye glistened. "I see all, my dear Téa girl. I know all. The eye tells all."

"So what are you? Some kind of prophet or something?" Yugi asked.

"You can say that," Pegasus answered.

Tristan eyed on the mysterious game maker in suspicion. "Careful, there is something not right about this guy." Trustan said. "He could be some magical nut job wanting to take people's souls."

The white-haired man chortled cheerily. "Ho ho ho! Relax, my dear children. I would never hurt a fly. I would never use my magical powers for far evil purposes." He assured in a genuine smile.

The kids studied him, thinking is he really telling the truth.

"He seems if his lungs were swelling up like balloons. enough," Téa said. "Guess we'll have to trust him."

Joey grunted muffledly from Téa's hands as if his lungs were swelling up like balloons. "Uh, Téa..." He blurted from his sealed up mouth. The color on his face shifted from peach to blue. "Téa...Téa! I CAN'T BREATHE! LEMME GO!"

Téa gasped and quickly removed her hands from Joey's mouth who wheezed and finally gasped in a large breath of air. "Geez! You tryin' to kill me or something?!" He rasped angrily.

"Sorry." Téa apologized.

"The only problem is we don't know where the Snow Pharaoh's Icy Pyramid is," Yugi said.

"Of course you don't know where the Icy Pyramid is, silly boy." The white-haired creator agreed. "You will never find it in this world, even if you searched every nook and cranny in every continent. Ho ho ho!"

The kids looked up with frustrated bewilderment.

"You see, my darling children, the Icy Pyramid is not in this world, oh no no no." Pegasus continued. "It is located in a different dimension. It is located in a another world compared to ours."

The kids' eyes widened in awe. "That's right. You heard correctly, there are two different worlds apart from another."

"You mean there's another world just like ours?" Téa asked.

"Pfft! Come on." Joey scoffed. "Dat is the dumbest thing I've ever heard! There is no other world."

Pegasus tsked and wagged his finger. "Poor Joey Boy. You don't even have the slightest clue that even the least suspecting item contains a tiny drop of mana within. Come with me, I will show you what I mean." He walked out of the dining hall with the children following him.

They ended up in a mystic-looking room decorated with paintings of landscapes, landmarks, and mythical creatures. There were also portraits of a couple of people, such as a beautiful young woman with blonde hair and a Egyptian man in a turban and cloak. There were also tiny model of Duel Monsters and several items that appeared to be artifacts that could be found in a excavation in Egypt. "What is all that stuff?" Tristan asked.

"I feel like we're some exhibit room, only without the boring lecture" said Joey.

"Welcome, my dear children to my office. I spend most of my time painting the beauties I see." Pegasus shared. "I travel around the world to discover new ancient cities and forgotten landmarks. I do my research for new ideas for my upcoming games. You'd be amazed how many undiscovered secrets there are hiding under the Earth and some certain places can only be seen by special eyes."

Téa checked out a small jade figurine of a Chinese maiden. Tristan saw a stack of recognizable Duel Monster trading cards. "Hey, those look like Duel Monsters."

"Of course they are Duel Monsters, doofus," Joey said. "Weren't ya listening? Maximilian Pegasus created Duel Monsters."

"Duh." Tristan returned.

"That is more than correct. In my travels, I've learn that priests of Egypt participated in Shadow Games, using Ba monsters." Pegasus said.

"They look so real." Téa said, holding a holographic card.

Joey picked up a card that had a picture of a goofy-looking black rabbit with long limbs and large paws. "Hmmm..." His eyebrows cocked. "Dat's a weird looking monster. Looks more like a cartoon." He muttered and lowered his arm to put the card down.

Suddenly, the dark bunny in the printed card moved. "Eh?" Joey noticed.

Out of the unexpected, a see-through black rabbit head appeared above the picture box on the card and guffawed lively.

"GAH!" Joey yelped in surprise and dropped the card.

"Huh?" The children turned their heads around, wondering what was their friend screaming about.

The black cartoony anthropomorphic creature fully emerged from the card and stood in full appearance in front of the children, cackling crazily.

"Whoa!" Téa exclaimed.

"What the demon-" Tristan spat out.

"Heh heh heh! Forgot to tell you, these cards are inhabited by real monster spirits." Pegasus informed.

"Real monster spirits?" Téa repeated.

"Ooh, yes. You know, the ones in the Snow Pharaoh story? The ones that live inside snowflakes."

Several more monster spirits popped out from the other cards, greeting the humans.

"Dude, unless I'm hallucinating, we may got a couple of monsters dancing around here," Joey said, seeing a cartoonish black dragon with red eyes.

"Nope, you're not hallucinating." Tristan replied. He was greeted by an orange and azure oversized eggshell-wearing toon dragon who cuddled him from behind in his tiny arms.

"They look real to me," Téa added, eyeing on two female twin elves with long pretty hairs and dresses.

The kids eyeballed in wonder as ethereal creatures, Duel Monsters in all shapes and sizes are danced around the lair

"This is amazing! I can't believe they're actually real! I'm seeing monsters up close!" Yugi gazed at the spirit monsters with ecstasy. He had never seen monster spirits in real life before, let alone in person. "If only Grandpa was here to see this. He would have been so psyched!"

"I thought they only exist in storybooks." Téa said.

"Quite the contrary, my dear Téa, spirits of monsters existed since the very beginning of time. The Creator of Light Horahtky created both humans and spirits of monsters alike. Most of the time, they dwell in people's hearts."

The kids listened with interest.

"During my travels to Egypt, in ancient Egypt, Ka monsters were summoned out of Ba which is a human's life energy. In case you're wondering, Ka is an ancient spirit monster that lived inside of people's hearts. They represent the nature of a person. For example, if a person is bad and has negative soul energy, then he or she contains an demonic Ka monster inside him or her." The white-haired man said mysteriously. "The monster's characteristic depends on the nature of its host."

Yugi, Téa, and Tristan were fascinated by the fact they had just learned. Joey on the other hand doesn't get it. "Duh, what exactly is Ka?" He asked dimwittedly.

Tristan banged Joey on the head with his fist. "You birdbrain! Weren't you paying attention?"

"Ka monster are originally Duel Monsters in Ancient Egypt." Yugi explained to Joey. "I read about them. People in Egypt use Ka monsters as pawns when they participated in dangerous and terrible games that involved life-threatening experiences. Priests used their Ba energy, as their life points like the one we used in the card game today. They used their dark and pure Ba energy to create new monsters out of thin air. The Snow Pharaoh's Ba is Dark Magician. He created the rest of Ice Cube Monsters with his snow mana. They were his pawns in his board game."

"Such a smart boy." Pegasus said.

"I knew that." Joey shook his empty-headed head.

"Weird. These cartoon monsters don't look like the one in the Egyptian text book." Téa said.

"That's because they're my own. They're not from Egypt, I made them with my own magic." Pegasus announced proudly. "I've always had a passion for cartoons. So I decided to make my own living cartoons, using sparkling magic dust and a little bit of Shadow magic." His golden eye shone.

Joey ogled eye-to-eye with a big-eyed cartoonish white dragon with blue eyes, similar to the rare card Yugi possessed when he tried to bribe it to Seto Kaiba. "I know you, you're Blue Eyes White Dragon, aren't you?" He forward his hand to pet the bizarre yet cute blue and white flying lizard, only it snapped its jaws at the pointy-haired teen who quickly swooped his hand out of the way before it clamped its jaws on it.

"Yikes! It even acts like the real Blue White Dragon!" Joey winced.

Blue Eyes Toon Dragon snickered deviously.

"Well, your toon monsters certainly are kind of loony if you ask me." Tristan said.

"Aren't they, Yugi Boy?" Pegasus agreed. The black skinny cartoon rabbit giggled mischievously and danced by his owner's side. "This little chap right here is my prized monster, Dark Rabbit." He introduced one of his favorite monsters. "He's from my deck Toon World." He pointed to a super thick picture book which is floating over a cauldron. "That's his home right there."

"Whoa." Yugi said.

"That's really nice. Now can we get back to business, please?" Tristan asked. "We're here to discuss about the Snow Pharaoh, remember?"

Pegasus nodded. "Yes, of course. Come here, kids. There's I got to show you." He enticed them to a corner where a model of a globe-like object stood. "I want you to take a look at this. This is my latest project."

The kids studied at the model globe that with five continents. "Uh, what exactly are we looking at?" Joey asked.

Yugi whistled. "Sure is an odd looking globe. Doesn't look like an ordinary globe."

"Once again you are correct, Yugi boy." Pegasus said. "That is beyond comparison to an ordinary globe."

"Would you cut the creepy mystic baloney and tell us what does this got to do with the Snow Pharaoh?" Tristan demanded.

"This, my dear Tristan is the model globe of the Old World, the parallel world." Pegasus described. "Unlike the Earth we live in, the Old World has five continents instead of seven." He navigated his finger over each land. "The middle section of the is called Humble Hamlet, the starting point of all travelers. The other four continents surrounding Humble Hamlet each have eternal season that lasts and stays on the lands instead of appearing once every year. For example, the North Continent is called the Winter Wasteland where it's always freezing cold. That's where the Icy Pyramid is located, also where the Snow Pharaoh is located with grandfather. The East Continent is called the Spring Isles, the South Continent is Summer Dunes, and the West is Autumn Woods. You must travel through these lands to get to your destination."

"So what you're saying is that the Snow Pharaoh is located on this spot, the blue land you called the North Continent AKA Winter Wasteland?" Yugi asked as he tapped his finger on the winter continent on the globe. "The Snow Pharaoh's Icy Pyramid is located on this spot where my finger is located?"

"That's precisely what I said." Pegasus answered. "Where else would it be located? Surely not on the Summer Dunes, it would surely melt."

"Whoa." Yugi looked amazed.

"Is this Old World for real?" Téa asked.

"I still say dis is a load of baloney," Joey said, folding his arms.

"If you ask me, it sounds like it could be used for an idea of a role-playing game," Tristan added.

Pegasus smirked deviously. "Now that you mention it, the Old World is like the world game you saw in my corner. That new game is coming soon."

"Is the Old World that is supposed to be the so-called alternate dimension is like some kind of role-playing world?" Yugi asked.

"Yes and no." Pegasus replied mysteriously.

The kids looked at each other, completely baffled at what he said. "Whaddaya mean 'yes or no'?" Joey demanded, scrambling his hands in his blonde hair. "You're confusin' me!"

Pegasus walked by the discombobulated boy and patted him on the shoulder. "Now, now. Don't get worked up, Joseph. What I meant is the Old World is not just some worldly video game that you play at home," he clarified. "It's actually a mystical ancient world full of magic spells, witches, powerful curses, monsters, spirits, and everything."

"Yeah, full of magic! Full of magical creatures!" Dark Rabbit agreed giddily. "Old World is nothing compared to your modern world."

"Thank you, Dark Rabbit but I think I can take it from here." Pegasus shooed his cartoon bunny aside. "The only difference between-" he was interrupted again when Dark Rabbit who hopped back in front of his owner.

"Did you know that there are millions of man-eating monsters in several areas of the Old World?" He blabbed. "There are also bigger, uglier, and nastier bandits that love to prey on unsuspecting hapless travelers. You better beware..."

Pegasus shut him up. "Don't mind him, kids. He was just loves to yammer!" He said in a cheery tone as if he was trying to cover something about the Old World. "As I was saying the difference between the game-"

"WHAT DIFFERENCE?" Dark Rabbit blurted out. "The only difference is that players are gonna get themselves killed for real! They can't come back to life-"

"Will you go back to your book and let me do the talking?" The game creator gritted his teeth in annoyance and clamped the rabbit's muzzle tight. "The only difference-"

Dark Rabbit laughed devilishly and pried free of his master's grasp. "I know how your story will end!" He announced haughtily and stood on top of the pages of Toon World book. "I'll tell you how it goes; The Snow Pharaoh will-"

SLAM! Pegasus shut tight the cover of the Toon World book on Dark Rabbit, finally silencing his annoying yapping monster. "Thank you! Argh!" He poofed out in annoyance and plopped his bottom upon the shut book to make sure he wasn't interrupted again. "The only DIFFERENCE between a game and the real world is that we have no control of would be become of us. You can't undo your decision that you make on the road. When you play a board gane, you can reset it. You cannot reset your journey. If something happens to you, it's all over. You can never come back. The Old World is for real."

In Horahtky's eyes, we're all just specks of gold dust at the mercy of the ultimate challenge."

"Oh." Joey, partially understood said. "I don't get it."

"That sounds exciting." Yugi said.

"So can you help us get there or what?" Tristan asked, feeling impatient.

Pegasus puffed his cheeks. "Can I? Yes I could. Would I? That depends."

"Depends on what?" Yugi asked.

"Like my Dark Rabbit said, the Old World is full of danger and man-eating monsters that can swallow up a grown man in one gulp." Pegasus said. "There are also life-threatening perils that could kill you before you could reach your destination. I'd sure hate to send a poor innocent soul to his death."

"I don't care how treacherous it sounds. I will do whatever it takes to save my grandpa," Yugi vowed determinedly.

"I thought you might say that. You certainly are a courageous little boy." Pegasus said.

"So you heard him!" Tristan and Joey came up to the game creator in forceful postures.

"You don't need to come at me with threats and demands. I will be more than happy to give you all a lift to the Old World." He calmly consented.

The kids' eyes widened with amazement and hope. "You will?"

"Seriously?" Yugi added.

"What's the catch?" Téa asked.

"There's no catch at all, my dear Téa." Pegasus replied. "The only problem is that no one has used the transportation gateway circle for years."

"Transportation gateway circle?" Joey, Tristan, and Teá repeated.

"The gateway circle will help you travel to another dimension, but it's going to take some time to reinstall it," Pegasus said as he hooked on some supplies.

"So how long is this magic mumbo-making gonna take?" Tristan asked.

"Well, my dear patient Tristan, this process is going to take a while," the white-haired man said. "But don't worry, I will give you something to do in the meantime." He briefly approached the group with a long list of tasks he expect them to do."

The kids looked at it, reading the items on the extended paper.

"What the heck is this?" Joey inquired.

"Would you mind giving my lair a good straightening?" The creator requested.

"You want us to do your stinkin' chores while you do some experiments with a painted floor?" Tristan said.

"Well, you wanted my help, didn't you?" Pegasus replied. "The least you could is help out in return."

"Pegasus is right, you know." Yugi concurred. "I don't mind giving him a hand or two."

"This is just like home." Tristan said, holding a broom.

While Pegasus got to work on the transportation circle, the children got started on tidying up Pegasus' domain.

Joey grumbled in displeasure as he rubbed the rag between the gaps of the bookshelf. "If he was a mage, why didn't he use some of his hocus pocus to GI his crib and eradicate all the dust in the like in The Sorcerer's Apprentice?" He coughed in a puff of dust.

"Also, be sure to water my pet Venus Flytrap." Pegasus called.

Tristan gulped as he tremulously tipped the water pitcher over the carnivorous snoozing plant to water it. The plant woke up and tried to snap the pointy-haired teen's hand.

"Careful, Tristan Boy. He actually bites. Ho ho ho!" Pegasus added ironically.

"Really? You don't say," Tristan said sarcastically.

As he was wiping down the table, Joey accidentally knocked over a vase of flowers, meaning he would have to clean it again. "I've always hated doing chores!" He moaned.

"Stop your whining, man. We're doing this for Yugi's grandpa," Tristan reminded.

"Don't worry, it looks like we're almost done." Téa said. As she was cleaning the glass, she spotted something with the picture glass. "'The difference of two hearts is warmth and cold, though in opposite temperatures, they built to make two worlds better places." She read.

"Huh? Did you say something, Téa?" Yugi asked.

They may never agree, but together, they will rid the darkness excruciating innocent souls." She pointed to the heart in the glass. "It's like a message or something."

The kids cocked their heads in question. "What does that mean?" Yugi wondered.

"It it some kind of prophecy?" Téa asked.

"Probably some weird old riddle." Joey commented.

Just then, Pegasus' voice interrupted them, getting their attention. "Yoo-hoo, young'uns. I want to tell you that the circle is complete now."

The kids looked up in reply and rose up with renewed energy. "Great. Finally." Joey said, flexing his arms.

"So we can get on then?" Téa said, putting the glass cleaner and rag down.

"First, have you finished all the tasks on my list?" Pegasus asked.

The kids nodded. "Yes, sir. We have." Yugi answered.

"You'll be very pleased that we even took the liberty of extra polishing floor tile." Tristan added. "There so shiny clean, you'll be able to see yourself in each block."

"I shall check out your results." Pegasus inspected the furniture for any missed spots. He wiped his finger on the surface of the freshly polished table and scrutinized for dust specks. "That'll do." Pegasus smugged as a sign he looked looked pleased. "Looks like you did a fine job tidying up my nest."

"Thank you, sir." Yugi returned graciously.

"So let's get going then. What are we waiting for?" Tristan urged.

Not a minute sooner, everyone was back in the lair where a newly painted magic realm circle laid on the linoleum floor, ready for a ritual transportation to the other world. "Now then, if you would kindly step into this magical circle, make sure you are standing inside of the smallest circle in the middle of the transportation floor."

As instructed, the kids stood in the middle of the circle. They huddled together in the "I'm a little nervous about this." Joey said.

"I got butterflies in my stomach," said Tristan. "Not to my goosebumps all over my body."

"Is this thing safe?" Téa asked.

"Are you sure this thing will get us to another world?" Yugi questioned.

"Don't worry, my dear boy, my magical circle will transport"

"Occasionally, you'll feel a little sting." He chuckled deviously. "Ho ho ho! Actually, the magic transportation you to another dimension will leave you a terrible scar on you once it's finished! Your body limbs might even break off and fling away to different vortexes."

The kids shrank back in fear. "Say WHAT?!" Joey shouted.

"That's it! I'm not getting on! I'm staying home where it's safe and watching the CSI marathon!" Tristan frantically attempted to leave the circle but Yugi and Téa held him back.

Pegasus burst out laughing in humor. "Just kidding! A little time-traveling humor." He said sincerely as he rubbed under his nose.

The children sighed in relief. "Right, I-I knew that!" Tristan said sheepishly.

"Oh, and before I sent you on the way, here's a little something for you." Pegasus gave a thick small book to Téa who looked at it with curiosity.

"What's this?" She asked.

"A living magic guidebook that will help you on your journey," Pegasus explained. "It contains a map and it'll tell you about the areas you traveled, the monsters you'll encounter, whatever you need to know, it'll give you the answers you need right away. It'll even have a chapter full of recipes and ingredients you could use to make weapons and delectable treats."

"You mean this book is alive?" Tristan stared at the mini text book.

"Contrary: there is a sprite living with within the pages," Pegasus answered. "I believe that it used to be a smart librarians who lived for the books."

"Interesting." Joey commented.

"And last but not least, this is for you, Little Yugi." The mystical Duel Monster creator also lent a mysterious-looking brown old sack to the young tricolored hair teen who looked at it with mystery.

"What's this?" Yugi asked.

"Only the most popular and most useful item for every traveler in very long treks," Pegasus added. "You'll have infinite room for as many items as it can carry. Also, there's a little pouch inside that carries gold coins called 'pelves'. You will automatically gain when you arrive at the village hub."

"That sounds terrific," Yugi said. "Thanks a lot, Mr. Pegasus."

"No thanks are necessary, my dear Yugi boy. Just helping out a friend of a friend." Pegasus smiled as he twirled his silver lock. "Oh, and one more thing, you may want to change your wardrobe before you go and see the Snow Pharaoh. You wouldn't want to disrespect his presence with your modern clothing, would you?"

The kids looked at themselves, pondering of their attire.

"Okay then. Thanks for all the advice you've given us. Now can we get dis show on the road?" Joey was getting impatient.

"Okie-dokie, then. Everyone hold on to your belongings, you're in for a rather bumpy ride." Pegasus reached into his pocket, pulled out a golden card, and threw it in the circle. The kids looked at it in question.

"Magical traveling card," Pegasus began to cast a mystical spell and spoke in a mystical language that the kids couldn't understand. "Take them to a different dimension, to the land of the ancients!"

At the sound of his voice, the circle began to glow, much to the children's awe.

"PEGASUS!" Yugi, Joey, Téa, and Tristan hollered as their bodies too began flashing.

"Au Revoir, children! Good luck to you, fellow!" Pegasus waved and hollered after them. "And remember, STAY ON THE PATH OF-"

But none of the kids seemed to hear him. Pegasus' words were drowned by the their hollering as their bodies slowly dissolved and vanished completely in a wash of golden sparkling dust.

At that moment, everything was completely yellow.

 **I might post another chapter tonight.**


	7. Humble Hamlet

**Hello, everybody! It's been so long!** **So sorry I haven't posted a chapter in a long time. Don't worry, I'm not dead!**

 **I have been busy finishing up my first book of my ongoing series and hoping to get it done by May 29th. Although I will be** **busy with my careers, I will still finish my current fanfictions and write more in the future when I find the time.**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **PEACE**

Slowly, the yellow background faded away. After the turbulent voyage to a another dimension, the gang took the time to recuperate themselves. Yugi groaned and collapsed on his bottom.

"That was a blast," Joey muttered as he rubbed his shaggy hair. "I'm gonna feel light-headed for a week."

"Remind me to thank Pegasus for that fantastic voyage," Tristan blurted. "If our body parts had switched during the transport, I will sue his red frilly pants off."

"I'm just thankful that we made it here safely. I mean, nobody got dematerialized in the process." added Téa as she felt her entire body to check if she's still solid. "At least I think."

Yugi groaned as he gingerly stood on his shaking legs and lifted his tender head up. He attempted to pry his eyes open once the stinginess in his closed eyelids.

Slowly and very carefully, the gang peeked their eyes ajar, blinking several times in order for the spots to diminish from their eyeballs. When their retinas restored and their vision cleared, they saw they are no longer in Maximilian Pegasus' lair. Instead, they noticed severals wooden houses and small buildings. The quadrant examined more of their new surrounding. They also spotted a mob of new people dressed in odd old-fashioned clothing. "Call me crazy, but I don't think we're in Japan anymore," Joey guessed.

"Heck, I don't think we're in Earth anymore," Tristan added.

Yugi's eyes widened as he realized the truth. They have arrived at the hub village of the so-called "game" world described by Pegasus. They have been transported into a new world, the opposite world comparing to Planet Earth. "This is it, guys. We made it. We traveled to the Old World." He stated.

The friends looked in awe. Several of the natives continued to stare while the others carried on. "So dis is the Old World, huh?" Joey said. "Gotta say, it's not too shabby. Reminds me of a role-playing online game I usta play. "

Téa cracked the book open and turn a few pages. "According to the magic guide book, we're located in a town called Humble Hamlet. It's village hub where travelers and venders come here to rest, stock up, and eat. It's also our starting point."

"The starting point of the game." Tristan added.

"Tristan, we're not really a game world. This world is the alternate universe that we transported in." Yugi explained. "This is almost like the real world, only it's filled with magic and real live monsters. Although it does feel like we're in a role playing board game."

"Yeah, it feels too real to be some kind of game." Téa said. "Kind of spooky if you ask me."

"So we have to be very careful," Yugi said. "We can't afford to lose our lives here. Grandpa is counting on me."

"Okay then. Now let's go find this Snow Pharaoh's Icy Pyramid so we can save your grandpa." Tristan was eager to get this show on the road.

"Just a minute, Tristan. Didn't Pegasus said that we need to gather some supplies and stuff?" Téa said, looking through the pages. "He did warn us that the journey we are planning to will be difficult and I quote, 'a rather perilous journey'."

"So we have to stock up good and equip ourselves with heavy armor and weapons." Joey said.

"One little problem with that, Joey." Téa interposed. "We need money to buy those things and all we got are yen from Earth which would probably be unusable in this world."

"We won't have to worry about that. Already we gotten 4,000 gold pieces, which in this world we call it 'pelves'." Yugi said, scoping up a hand full of gold coins.

"Great, so now we can buy whatever we want." Joey said.

"There are just so many shops here," Téa said. "Don't know what to choose, where to start..."

"How about this one?" Yugi pointed to a shop that has a large mermaid painted over the sign.

"'The Mermaid Dresser'?" Tristan read. "You're kidding, right? That sounds like a girly store to me."

"I wouldn't be caught dead in that mermaid outfit." Joey added.

"This looks more like a regular store," Téa peeked through the windows. "They have guy clothes too. I'd say let's go in."

So Yugi and the gang opened the door and went inside. A teenage girl with long purple hair tied in a ponytail stood from behind a counter and approached the customers. "Welcome to the Mermaid Dresser." She greeted warmly in a high pitched voice. "My name is Miho, what can do I for you?"

"Well, Miho, we need some traveling clothes and some armor." Yugi requested. "What do you have?"

"We have a full selection of clothing to your size." Miho said. "Please feel free to look around."

Yugi, Tristan, Téa, and Joey browsed the store, trying on various clothing.

Yugi held a large Viking helmet in his hands and examined it. "Hmm...do you think I should wear this?"

"That's up to you, Yug." Tristan shrugged as he was putting in a blue trench coat. "Hmmm...not so bad looking." He said in a stud-like tone.

Yugi put on the helmet and it was too large for his size. "I don't know. I can barely see and it weighs a ton on my head."

"There are plenty of other smaller clothes for about your size, dear," Miho addressed to him. "We have a great deal on children's clothing just for you."

Yugi felt a tab insulted and blushed when the nice dresser shopkeeper mistaken him for a small kid because of his height. "Thanks, but despite my height, I'm not a kid. I'm actually a high school teenager."

Joey and Tristan snickered at that from the selection of warrior attire and armor. "Funny. He acts like a kid most of da time when it comes to games and toys." The tall blond whispered to his friend.

"He once cried that the Creator's Edition Capsule Monsters was sold out in a game stop," Tristan secretly replied back.

Miho came up to the pointy-haired teen with a flirtatious look on her face. "I got some armor that suits your character, huncho man." She batted her long eyelashes at Tristan who blushed and looked at her nervously.

Téa looked at herself in the mirror, trying out a 14th century dress with puffy sleeves. "Hmm...You got anything that doesn't have any frills?" She requested.

Miho smiled as she loves having customers who possess good taste.

Time to time, the gang tried on various costumes, changing from clothing-to-clothing, tossing and grabbing accessories they could find. Miho's employees had to try and keep up with them, picking up the discarded clothing and bringing them the required items to the dressing rooms.

One by one, the four emerged from the curtained boxes in their new attire. Yugi was dressed in a long cerulean long-sleeved shirt with a gold and tan armor, a purple belt, blue pants, an red cape, and matching red boots and gloves. "Well, how do I look?" He asked.

Miho gave him a thumbs-up. "Like a brave and handsome traveler." She said with a blush. "You know, you remind of a brave hero that I once read in a romance book."

Yugi chuckled and blushed.

"What about me?" Tristan came out next, dressed in a brown trench coat, long-sleeved black shirt, dark Canim pants, large belt buckle, combat boots, and fingerless gloves.

Yugi and Miho took a gander at him and smiled. "You look good too, Tristan." The shortest teen complimented.

The purple-haired shopkeeper beamed at him admiringly. "I agree!"

"Wait 'til you see me!" Joey's voice blurted out from the third changing room.

Yugi and Tristan turned around to see their friend come out dressed third, only to gawk and stare. Joey was dressed in a Neanderthal loincloth, elephant skin boots, a dinosaur skull head on his blond hair, and carrying a heavy club. "Well, whaddaya think of my new costume?" He grinned. "Do I look tough or what?"

Yugi and Tristan ogled at their friend weirdly and tried to hold back their snickering. "Dude, what the heck are you wearing?" The pointy haired teen asked.

"Do I detect some jealously in ya, Tristan?" The bigheaded blonde smirked.

"More like mockery in Tristan," Yugi secretly whispered.

"You guys got weird sense of fashion," Téa's voice interposed. "I already found my new wardrobe."

The boys turned to take a look at their female friend. But this time, their eyes widened in awe and admiration. Téa was dressed in a slender purple and yellow dress robe that reached to her ankles and revealed part of her legs. Her waist was belted in a silky black sash. She had on matching purple boots with black stockings and a beautiful golden medallion with a crescent moon. "What do you boys think of my new attire? I figure This robe doesn't make me look too fat, does it?"

The boys continued to stare at her. "I'd always knew she had a full feminine body, but DA-ANG!" Joey spat out. A bit of drool oozed from the corner of his mouth.

"You look different, Téa." Tristan managed to say.

"All I could say is; 'wow!'" Yugi gasped.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Téa said cheerfully.

Joey changed out of his goofy caveman costume and into a cooler swordsman uniform. Colors of blue and orange, bronze breastplate, purple belt, red cape, and matching orange gloves and boots. "I think I like dis one better."

As the group went to pay for the clothes, Tristan added "We'll need weapons now."

"You'll find them in the neighboring store, in Ruffian Rafael's Arsenal." Miho pointed to another store across the street.

A minute later, the gang swung by at Ruffian Rafael's Arsenal, a weapon store that was loaded with all kinds, clubs, swords, lances, katanas, boomerangs, they name it. A bulky muscular man with sharp blond hair, small azure eyes, and sideburns was working out when he noticed some customers. "Hey, there, small fries. Welcome to my weaponry shop, name's Rafael." He greeted in a dark husky voice and largely came up to the gang. "Half of the merchandise here are on sale. Buy eight daggers, get the ninth free. I also got a bottle of Eatos lotion, made it myself from my faithful friend Guardian Eatos"

The kids looked up at the large man and smiled lightly. "Uh, great, Rafael. Do you know any good weapons that could suit us?" Yugi asked.

Rafael smugged. "I got a bunch of tools designed especially for someone your size." He said gruffly as he rubbed under his stout nose.

The kids browsed through a whole selection of weapons. Tristan spotted a crossbow and picked it up by the tail to examine it. "Hey, check it out. I've always wanted to try out these bad boys!" He pretended to aim the slotted arrows at an invisible target. "Lookout, foes! Tristan Taylor's armed and ready for shootin'! SPWANG!" He mimicked the noise of a released arrow. Momently, his finger tapping the trigger slipped and mistakenly released the arrow from the slot for real! It bounced off the ceiling and shelves, and it strike Joey in the bottom and he howled in pain.

"YEEEEOOOW!"

Tristan winced at that and dropped the crossbow. Joey growled in rage and seized his clumsy friend around the neck and held him tightly in a throttling hold. "Why'd ya do it?! Why'd ya do it?!" He shouted. "What is wrong with ya? Is dere a screw in ya brain or somethin'?!"

Tristan choked and tried to wrangle himself loose.

Téa looked at a large box full of odd magical items. She spotted an odd-looking gold ring with sharp prongs and a triangle shape with a carved eye in the middle. "Hmm." She put it back and checked out another item.

She found a purple and cerise bow with a light pink string. "Whoa! Check this out!" She lightly plucked with the string and found a blue arrow to go with bow. "Artemis would get a kick out this one." She pretended to be aiming at an invisible target. She chuckled as she put the archery set down to look through the box.

Finally she picked up a long purple stick that had a golden orb at the end adorned with a crescent moon behind it. "Awesome! That staff looks like the one from my favorite card." She said.

"I see you saw something that you like. It's called the Staff of Faith, it'll allow you to produce white magic and healing spells," Rafael described.

"Sweet! We could use a healer on our team!" Tristan said.

"Téa can act as a nurse for our wounds and injuries while da warriors battle monsters during our journey," Joey added, referring to himself, Tristan, and Yugi.

"Hey, I can fight too, you know." Téa returned. "This isn't like the Renaissance Age."

"You can also use the Staff of Faith to cast white mana that can vaporize enemies into dust." Rafael added. "No foe would stand a chance against wave of holy magic, especially dark-typed fiends."

"No kidding." Téa smiled as she held the Staff of Faith in her hands. "I know what I like."

Yugi picked up a long whip. "What's this?"

"That would be a monster tamer's whip," Rafael answered. "You can use it to convince monsters to join your team when you encountered them on your journey."

"You mean I get to befriend wild monsters?" Yugi asked. "

"You can do whatever you want with your 'captured' monsters," Rafael said. "You can train 'em, release 'em, make them your friend or your servant."

"I don't know if I want to have monsters on my team," Joey said. "I hear they're kind of messy and I don't want to be cleaning up after them!"

"Well, I'd like to see those cute monsters up close." Téa said.

"Did I mention that the weapons you equip will help boost up your strengths and manas?" Rafael said.

"Really? That could be useful," Joey said.

"How much is all this going to cost?" Tristan asked.

Rafael got out an old-fashioned counting board to add up the costs of the quadrant's weapons. When he finished calculating, he pointed it to his customers who looked at the total and gaped in awe.

"DAT MUCH?!" Joey screamed.

"Plus tax," Rafael added. "And if you want, I will even throw in a free trip to a health sauna that will help build up your strength and stamina." He hinted to the back door of his shop which leads to the sauna area. "Hi family!" He smiled and waved to the door.

"Hi, Rafael!" The weapon shop owner's mother, father, and younger brother and sister appeared from the door window and waved back.

Téa smiled and gave her greeting to the shop owner's family while Joey and Tristan stared. They didn't know that such a large man with a callous attitude can have a nice, sweet, family.

Yugi looked inside the bag and dug out a bunch of coins. "Well, even when it's going to be expensive, we should be able to afford it."

"We'll just have to finder the cheapest, yet powerful weapons we can get our hands on." Triatan said as he found a long black blunderbuss with golden and picked it up to examine it. "Nice. Didn't know this world would contain guns. I thought the Otherworld only had ancient weapons such as spears and clubs." He peeked through the barrels and clicked the trigger.

"That one is one of the most powerful magic firearms a gunman could possess." Rafael explained. "I like to to call it Big Black Boomer. With a pull of the trigger, she'll fire out a helluva load of powerful explosive magic ."

"Sounds great! I'll take it!" Tristan ecstatically decided and twirled the selected weapon in the air like a baton. As he placed the blunderbuss on its rear on the floor, POP! Some artificial gunpowder unexpectedly popped out from barrels without warning. Tristan and co. yelped in alarm as charcoal smog emerged from the tubes, causing the quadrant to cough and soiled in black specks.

"Dude!" The stunned Joey blurted and coughed out smoke.

"Whoops! Guess I forgot to mention that the Big Black Boomer is trigger-sensitive." Rafael chortled. "I reckon you make sure that the safety is on whenever you use it. Hey, one day it'll become very handy when you're outnumbered by enemies or cornered by a enormous ugly monster."

"Terrific." Tristan displayed his pearly whites as he dusted himself clean.

Joey checked out a large sword which blade was carved a torching flame with a Chinese calligraphy symbol translating fire. "Whoa! Nice craftsmanship. Looks a flame or somethin'."

Yugi appeared right next to his tall friend and glanced at the item Joey was holding. "Oh nice. Reminds me of the Duel Monster Flame Swordsman."

Joey examined at the weapon with like and grinned. "Oh yeah! Dis is my kind of weapon!" He laughed and played with it, swiping it at every direction around the store.

Tristan and Téa hastily ducked as their klutzy friend nearly cut their heads off.

"Dude, watch it!" The brown-haired teen exclaimed as the tip of his pointy hair was sliced off.

"I don't need another haircut, thank you!" Téa added.

"I'm definetely takin' dis baby!" Joey smirked as he placed the sword back in the scabbard.

"I think that's a good choice, young squire." Rafael said. "Did you know that the Flaming Sword, the one you picked out once belonged to a great warrior lost in a great civil war that happened nearly ten years ago?"

Joey and co. looked up in interest. "Oh really? Who was it?" Yugi asked.

"Hmmm...not really sure. Though I heard his name was Raih something or whatever." Rafael replied bluntly.

Yugi and Joey cocked their heads in question and looked at each other.

"This may be a weird question, Rafael," Téa spoke up to him. "But do you know which way is to the Snow Pharaoh's Icy Pyramid?"

The weapon owner looked in suspicion. "Why do you wanna know?" His small eyes narrowed. "I know you're not thinking about going to a place like that, right?"

Yugi looked skeptical. "Yes, we are as a matter of fact. Why?"

"You should be aware that the Snow Pharaoh doesn't take too kindly to visitors," Rafael said. "The only thing he would offer you is a chance to duel him. From what I heard, he hasn't lost a single duel. His victims never had a chance and had to serves as servants to the Snow Pharaoh for all eternity."

Yugi swallowed lightly while Joey and Tristan held on to each other, shuddering at the thought being the Snow Pharaoh's servant. "Yeah, I've heard."

"I wish you luck, small fry. If I was a betting man, I'd say this would be the last time I'd ever see you again." Rafael added one last thing when Yugi and the gang went to pay to for their weapons. "Ha ha ha ha!"

It was high noon in afternoon when the four friends emerged from the shop with their new equipments. "Do you think what Rafael said is true?" Téa asked.

"That our weapons will help boost our attributes?" Joey responded. "I'm sure he's telling da truth. At least, he better be tellin' da truth."

"Not that. I'm talking the Snow Pharaoh being invincible," Téa said. "I mean, does he really turn people into Ice Cube Monster pawns? That sounds totally scary." She turned to Yugi with a concern look on her face. "I'm totally worried about what will happen to you once we meet the Snow Pharaoh?"

Tristan shared his concern for his small friend. "You know, come to think of, I do have a curdling thought of becoming the Snow Pharaoh's servant." He then shook his head. "I don't want to think about that."

Yugi looked up at his friends. "I wouldn't worry about that, you guys."

"Dat's right. I ain't turning into some mindless game pawn without a fight," Joey said. "We're gonna find Yugi's grandfather and make sure he comes home with us, whether ol' King Cold Feet likes it or not."

"I just hope that when we do get to the Snow Pharaoh's pyramid, you guys won't do anything reckless." Téa said.

"We can discuss our plans over lunch," Joey said, licking his lips and rubbing his stomach. "All dat shopping is making me hungry."

"You know what? I'm hungry too!" Tristan said.

Téa rolled her eyes. "Good grief, guys! You guys are always hungry!"

"I guess some things never change." Yugi chuckled. "Let's see if there's a decent restaurant in this town."

The quadrant found a simple cafe called the Fortress Whale. It was a seafood restaurant that was literally shaped and designed as an oversized blue whale with a castle tower on its back and a long spiral horn on its nose. The place was adorned with sea-theme decorations, including statues that strongly resembled water creatures, familiar from a certain famous board game.

A young man with copper brown skin, a scar on his right cheek, and long dark blue hair tied in a ponytail approached the friends at the table and greeted them with a broad grin. "Ahoy there! Welcome to the Fortress Whale. My name is Mako Tsunami, the proud owner of the restaurant. What can we get for you today?"

Joey and Tristan scanned the whole menu very carefully. "Dude, everything looks so good." The hungry pointed-haired teen said.

"I'll just have a glass of water and a bowl of creamy clam chowder." Téa ordered.

"I'll have the fishburger with some chips," Yugi added.

"We'll take everything on the menu!" Joey delightfully requested.

Mako stared at the boys like they were crazy. "Are you serious? You're really going to eat all that?"

"They do that at home all the time," Téa informed. "They're not afraid to try anything. Anything that's edible, they will eat it."

Mako put on a gracious smile. "We'll just start you off with the seafood platter." He turned to the window of the kitchen. "Yo, Becky! We need a saucer of crawling crustaceans and squirming squiggly squids!"

When the female chef behind the window received all that, she nodded and got started on the entree, carrying a sharp shining slicer and a wiggly eel in her hands.

While they for their food to arrive, Mako started up a conversation. "Never seen you guys before. Are you new?"

"We just arrived." Yugi answered. "We're on a mission to rescue my grandfather."

"Really? What happened?" Mako asked.

"He was taken by the Snow Pharaoh," Yugi answered.

"Say what? The Snow Pharaoh?" Mako blurted out in surprise.

When the cafe owner blurted out the name, everybody in the restaurant looked up from their food and stared at the friends on the table.

"Oh man. So sorry to hear that." Mako said with consolation.

"We're a on a mission to rescue my grandfather." Yugi said.

"And when we find him, we're gonna teach the Snow Pharaoh a lesson he won't forget." Joey added.

Mako's eyes widened in awe. "You must be crazy going to the Snow Pharaoh's Icy Pyramid," Mako said. "Why in the name of Moby Dick would you go there?"

Yugi shrugged. "My grandpa is there. I couldn't just sit here while the Snow Pharaoh keeps him hostage. Someone has

"If I didn't know better, I'd say the Snow Pharaoh is luring you to a trap." Mako pointed out the obvious. "I'd be careful if I were you."

"Thanks, Mako, I will." Yugi said. His eyes wondered the sea-themed eatery's background and spotted the impressive mural painting on the wall. He saw an army of spirit monsters marching up against a tremendously large shadow demon that is threatening the entire world. As Yugi looked closer at the antagonist in the painting, he saw that it looked familiar from a certain fairy tale that his grandfather used to tell him.

A ring from the kitchen window snapped him out of a trance as an alert that their food is ready. "Pickup for table 41!"

Not a minute later, a waitress approached the friends' table with a six-course meal. As she set down each plate on the table, Yugi and Téa stared at the portions with bulging eyeballs. The seafood on the dishes actually moved! They were still alive and squirming! But Joey and Tristan didn't seem to care. They dove right in and began masticating the seafood like hungry cats.

Yugi and Téa gawked and yelped at the feeding frenzy. Joey grabbed a round pot pie and chomped it down. Tristan stole a slice and gulped it like a sandwich.

Mako grinned and displayed his pearly whites. "It's amazing! Not many people are brave enough to try our live sea ant pot pie! And my Legendary Fisherman eats anything."

The boys' eyes widened when they learned about the truth of the pot pie. "Did you say 'live ants'" Tristan choked out.

Joey gulped and felt something squirm in his stomach. "Come to think of it, I feel a little itchy on the inside!"

Yugi laughed as he watched his goofy friends leaped from their seats and "danced" in front of the restaurant, scratching themselves and jiggling their bodies.

"I wonder what's for dessert?" Téa, amused thought out loud.

After an interesting lunch at the Fortress Whale and a few visits to the shops, Yugi and the gang were fully equiped their garbs, weapons, armor, and accessories. Joey changed out of his caveman uniform to red-orange armor with a blue cape, dark blue pants and sleeves, and purple boots.

They were nearly all set for their journey, not before checking things on the list to the last minute.

"Think we got everything?" Téa asked.

"We should." Tristan said. "I'm all set to go."

"Hang on, guys, we're down to one last item," Yugi said, reading the checklist. "All we need now are provisions."

"Right. So den let's go get dem," Joey said. He then put on a clueless face. "Eh...what are 'probations'?"

"Provisions." Tristan corrected. "They're consumable items used for when you're traveling on long miles." Joey still looked confused. "You know, food? Snacks, medicine, stuff to keep our strength up. Duh!"

Joey rolled his eyes. "You could have just said 'food and medicine'. I'm not a brainiac, you know."

"Got that right." Tristan muttered.

"Where to shop for supplies and medicine?" Téa asked.

"What about over there?" Yugi pointed to a peculiar-looking shop with a creepily colored clown panel holding the store title sign.

Téa looked up and read. "'The Black Clown.' Huh, peculiar name for a store."

"And creepy." Tristan frowned at the store sign's design.

"Looks can be deceiving. Let's go inside." Yugi and his friends entered the store where it was nearly packed inside.

They looked around in the store, finding that it was filled with all kinds of commodities, products, and consumable morsels such as healing herbs, vials of antidotes, elixirs, everything they could use for their long trek. The store also carried accessories, including bracelets, rings, and ribbons.

A cute girl in a adorable pink and white outfit approached the new customers and handed them fliers. "Welcome. Today is the grand opening of the Black Clown." She greeted them with a cheery smile. "Feel free to look around. We got a 'Buy Two, Get One Free' deal."

"Terrific." Téa said.

"'The Black Clown." Joey commented and scoffed. "What kind of person thought of a stupid name like that?"

"That would be my dad." A young male responded from nowhere.

"Huh?" The kids turned their heads to the left.

A young man with a long raven hair tied in a ponytail and leering green eyes sat behind the counter. He wore a red vest over a black shirt, black pants, armlets, and a golden wristband. To Téa, he looked rather handsome, if it weren't for that black scar-like marking underneath his right eye.

"Welcome to the Black Clown." He said in a warm friendly tone. "My name is Duke Devlin, the store owner."

"Hi, Duke." Yugi greeted. "So you really own this store? That's a big responsibility."

Duke chuckled. "Actually, it was my old man who started this shop. He passed it down to me before he left on his journey."

"Really? So you're in charge of da store 'til he gets back?" Joey said.

"Something like that. But enough about that. Let's talk business." Duke changed the subject. "Are you four looking for something in particular?"

"Well, we are looking for provisions for our trip." Yugi required. "You see, we got a very long trip ahead of us. We're gonna need food, medicine, healing herbs, and some magic potion that will restore our mans and strength whenever we get tired from battle. You know what I'm talking about?"

"Yep. Whatever you need, you've come to the right place." Duke smirked. "We got a heck of a stock load of replenishing drinks in different flavors, jars of hyper beans, remedies, anything you need right here on the shelf."

"Alright." Téa scanned the items on the shelf. She found a jar of greenish and pink-looking pickled fruit. "I didn't know this place carries olives."

"Actually those are pink-eyed frog eyes," Duke pointed out. "A special and perfectly good ingredient for when you making the perfect weapon."

"Ew!" Téa expressed in disgust and placed the jar back on the shelf.

"Can you really make your own weapons?" Tristan asked.

"Of course." Duke answered. "You can make rare weapons, shields, or even delectable morsels that you can't find in stores."

"Nice. Can you tell us more about this store, Duke?" Yugi said.

"No problem." While Duke was showing the group more selection of items, Joey walked around and noticed a female employee giving out free samples.

"Hey, whatcha selling dere?" He asked.

"Try our delicious organic chicken feet," the girl in an adorable shop apron presented a platter of golden brown three-toed limbs.

Joey looked at them with interest. "Okay. Don't mind if I do." He plopped one into his and crunched "Tastes like chicken," he commented densely.

"Well, yeah, it is chicken." The sampler girl replied, looking at the blond boy.

"Oh yeah. Right." Joey fully understood as his cheeks puffed up with tasty fowl limbs. "Got anymore?"

The sampler girl chuckled in amusement.

"So is this 'alchemy pot' for sale?" Téa asked, rubbing the black rims of a small black cauldron.

"Sure. My girlfriend has been nagging me to get rid of it." Duke said. "We barely even use it."

"Well, we'd be more than happy to take it off your hands, Duke." Yugi said. "It'll be very useful in our journey."

"Let's hurry up and buy stuff so we can go and save your grandpa," Tristan suggested.

"Oh, right. Of course!" Yugi retrieved the memory of his mission in the Old World. "I almost forgot. Let's pick up what we need for our trip."

"Right!" His pals agreed and scattered at the shop, grabbing almost everything they can get their hands on.

"Think we need those, what do you call them-rose roselle leaves." Téa picked up a stem full of ruby red petals. "I hear that they make very good herbal tea."

"Sure, we can take them along, too." Yugi concurred.

"I wanna take dese also," Joey said, holding an armful of cabbage. "I hear they're good for takin' care of rashes and poison ivies."

Tristan who was carrying bottles of water peered at his dimwitted friend. "That would aloe. What you're carrying in your arms is cabbage."

Joey dumbfounded, looked at the merchandise in his arms and ogled back at his pointy-haired comrade. "Oh, I knew dat."

After the group gathered all the essentials they need and piled them on Duke's counter, who gaped and winced backwards as if the items at the top were going to tumble over him.

"We're ready, Duke." Yugi informed.

"Let's see..." He began summing up the merchandise on the counter. "That's twenty five bottles of pure water, fifteen bags of ingredients, bread, medicine, herbs, the alchemy pot you wanted to take..." He added, pointing to the alchemy pot on the counter.

Yugi and co. stood around patiently as the black-haired store owner finished calculating the price of the quantity.

"The total of these 25 items will come up to...eleven thousand coins." He concluded.

"Eleven hundred coins?!" The gang exclaimed in shock.

"Tha-tha-that's in gold coins?" Yugi asked

"No, in pebbles. What do you think?" Duke replied

"But why this many money?" Téa complained.

Duke just shrugged. "Supply and demand. It's the busiest time of the year when random travelers had to stock up to their ears with herbs and bread."

"Dis place is robbery!" Joey commented.

Yugi looked inside the bag and pulled out last of one thousand coins. "That's hardly enough to cover it."

"Hey, man, how are you trying to play a buddy?" Tristan demanded. "How can you charge us over one thousand coins for a few stinkin' items?"

Duke shook his head. "A sale's a sale, brother. Take it or leave it." He put it firmly.

The group groaned in dismay.

"Aw, come on!" Joey whined.

"Look, I'm a unreasonable person. I'm be happy to compromise," Duke reasoned. He divided the lesser items and the alchemy pot. "One thousand coins will give you this and no more." He took Téa's hand and looked at her flirtatiously. "For you, pretty lady, I can give you a discount."

Téa chuckled sheepishly.

"No, thanks." Joey refused. "I think we'll manage without your stupid items."

"You said you got a very long journey, didn't you?" Duke pointed it.

Joey and Tristan groaned. "Do they have always to be right?"

"Come on, guys. Let's just take those items that we can afford so we can be on our way to save my grandpa." Yugi said. "Don't forget he's counting on us. We can't waste any more time."

"Yugi's right, guys." Téa added. "This is way more important than the alchemy pot."

But those two boys wouldn't just throw in the towel.

"Oh no. You see, that's what he's tryin' ta do, you guys," Tristan speculated. "He's testing us to see if we would actually 'throw away' one thousand and hundred coins on a bunch of dumb items." He made quote marks with his fingers as he explained. "He's playing tough salesman. Well, we're not buying his pitch at all. We're not suckers!"

Téa and Yugi looked at each other with doubt.

"But don't you worry, guys. We don't give up dat easily!" Joey said. "We'll get what we need, once we take on with dis con artist here."

The store fell into silence. The employees and customers gasped in fear as if the blond stranger had call the store owner a very bad name.

"What?" Joey asked in confusion.

Provoked from that word, Duke stood up from the counter, yanked the two tall boys by the collars, and glared at them straight in the faces with those fuming emerald eyes. Joey and Tristan felt very afraid and choked. "Uh-oh!" Tèa uttered.

"What did you just call me?" The black- shop owner asked in a low cold tone.

"Nothing?" Joey whimpered in response.

"I think you got him mad, dude!" Tristan squeaked to his dimwitted friend.

"Nobody calls me a 'sleazy con artist' and walks away with it!" Duke growled. Still clinging on to their collars, he dragged the two incompetent boys across the shop with their feet dragging across the floor. Téa and Yugi watched in awe. Three young girls who were shopping were cheering for the handsome shopkeeper when the two lunkhead visitors called him a con artist.

"Can't we talk about this?" Tristan asked as Duke was at the entrance.

Duke didn't listen. He pushed the doors open and tossed the boys outside like they were garbage. "And stay out!"

"Hey, you could have just called security!" Joey wavered his fist.

Duke dusted off his hands and returned inside.

"Great guy!" Tristan muttered, rubbing his bottom.

Yugi and Téa caught up to them outside. "Are you guys okay?" The only girl in the hero group asked.

"What happened?" Yugi asked.

"You saw what happened. Dat jerk kicked us out of his dumb shop." Joey replied.

"So much for gathering supplies," Tristan muttered as he got up and dusted his cowboy pants.

"It's okay, guys. We don't need some weird-looking pot for our journey." Yugi said. "We'll manage without one."

"Yeah, but without any provisions and medicine, we won't be able to stand a chance in this unfamiliar world," Téa pointed out. "We might not even make it halfway across the world."

Yugi groaned. She did have a point.

"Sorry, Yug. It was my fault." Joey apologized. "Shoulda kept my mouth shut."

"If Joey hadn't screw things up like usual, we would have been on our way right now halfway to the Snow Pharaoh's pyramid." Tristan added. Joey groaned and glared.

"It's okay, Joey." Yugi assured. "We'll figure something out." He then ran back into the shop.

"Yugi!" Téa called after him.

"Let him go, Téa." Tristan advised. "Let's see what he does."

Yugi returned to the counter, facing Duke, the Black Clown owner. "Please, Duke, I must apologize of what my friends said to you." He bowed in apology. "They didn't mean it. They're just not used to the economy in this world."

"Apology accepted, kid. But the price is still one thousand and hundred coins." The shopkeeper replied.

"Isn't there any way that you can lower the price? We just want the supplies, not the whole store."

"I would, but I can't do that."

"We're on very serious journey, Duke.

"I realize that, but-"

"I don't think you understand, Duke." The tri-colored haired boy persisted. "This is a matter of life and death."

"What are you talking about?" Duke frowned.

"You see, my grandfather is in trouble. He

"Sorry to hear about your grandfather, Yugi." Duke said, looking a tad bit concerned. "But-"

"You see, he was kidnapped by the Snow Pharaoh and he's taking him hostage in his Icy Pyramid. If my friends and I don't get there, he could die."

Duke blinked rapidly and widened his eyes as if the short boy said something crazy. "Wait a second! Hold up, hold up, kid! Back it up!" He waved his hand to silence the tricolored-haired kid. "Did you say 'Snow Pharaoh'?"

"Yes, that's what I said." Yugi said.

"You're talking about THE Snow Pharaoh? The one that lives in the Icy Pyramid far far away from here?" Duke enunciated.

"The same one," Yugi replied. "You heard of the

"Everybody has heard of the Snow Pharaoh. My old man, went out to challenge the Snow Pharaoh himself," the black-haired boy explained. "Hadn't heard from him since. Don't know if he made it or if he lost in a game and got turned into a pawn by the Snow Pharaoh."

Yugi looked amazed.

"I have to tell you, kid, that Snow Pharaoh means business. He's no amateur when it cones to Ice Cube Monsters. Unless you want to become a servant for the invincible ruler, I'd suggest you stay away from his pyramid."

"I wouldn't let that worry. I'm not going there for a game. I'm going to bring my grandfather home."

Duke then let out a huge laugh. "You got a lot of guts for a small guy. You really think you're gonna take on the Snow Pharaoh head on?"

Yugi looked determined. "If it's for my grandpa's sake, I'd have to. The Snow Pharaoh may have very powerful ice magic beyond the gods, but I got something that is more powerful than anything he can throw at me. My warm will protect me. I will not rest until my grandfather is safe at home."

Several people in the shop who were listening in were awed and inspired by the boy's bold speech.

Duke was so impressed by the boy's bravery and determination that something inside him clicked, like a change of heart. He lowered himself to Yugi's height to say something to him.

"Tell you what I'm going to do, Yugi." He made sure no one was listening and whispered to the small boy's ear. "I'll drop the price down to one thousand coins."

Yugi's eyes expanded . "Really?"

"Absolutely. But don't tell anyone that I did that. Otherwise, they're going to try what you do and convince me to give me a discount.

"What about the alchemy pot?" Yugi asked.

"This alchemy pot is on the house." Duke gradually put the alchemy pot in Yugi's bottomless bag. "Don't worry about the price tag. That will be taken care of. The rest you can pay with one thousand coins." He smiled and winked in approval.

Yugi broke out into a grateful smile. "Ha, ha, ha! Thank you!" His violet eyes sparkled.

Téa, Joey, and Tristan saw through the shop window and were ecstatic that their friend's reasonable magic has once again worked.

Yugi paid the last of one thousand coins and finally got everything they need on their journey.


End file.
